Summer Camp Nightmare
by Vfanforlife
Summary: It’s summertime, and the East High Wildcats are at a camp. Someone from Troy’s past comes back and wants to get to him. How? By using the thing closest to Troy, Gabriella. Rated T for some themes, violence and SC.
1. Trailer

AN: Hey guys

**AN: Hey guys! I was registering for my camp when I came across this story idea. Please tell me if you want me to continue with it. I will make a trailer soon and post it on my youtube channel. Check it out!**

**Trailer**

**Disclaimer – Sadly, I don't own HSM, no matter how much I dream**

**Summertime, everyone's favorite time of year **

"We're finally done school!"

**Senior Year is finished, and the gang is going away to a camp for the last time before college. **

"I can't believe I'm going to summer camp!"

"You'll have a great time"

_Flashes to the gang loading their gear on the bus_

**Everything is going perfectly**

_Shows Gabriella and Troy having a picnic by the lake_

_Shows everyone hiking through the forest_

"This is the best summer yet!"

**Until things take a turn for the worst**

"Where's Gabriella?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S MISSING!"

_Shows Troy, Chad and Jason running through the forest, and Sharpay, Taylor and Kelsi crying_

**Troy's worst nightmare is back**

**And wants to punish him using his only weakness**

"Troy! We meet again"

**Gabriella**

"RELEASE HER!"

"I would rather not"

_Shows Troy stepping forward_

**How will the summer end?**

**Starring:**

**Zac Efron as Troy Bolton**

**Vanessa Hudgens as Gabriella Montez**

**Ashley Tisdale as Sharpay Evans**

**Lucas Grabeel as Ryan Evans**

**Corbin Bleu as Chad Danforth **

**Monique Coleman as Tayor McKessie**

**In**

**Summer Camp Nightmare**

BR

Please Read and Review. Tell me if you want me to continue with this story. My other trailer didn't get any reviews, so I don't think I will continue with it. Tell me if this catches your eye. Trailer coming soon on my youtube!


	2. Arival at Camp

Chapter 1: Arrival at Camp

**Chapter 1: Arrival at Camp**

**Disclaimer – I do not own HSM, which is owned by Disney. **

**Gabriella's P.O.V**

"I can't believe I'm going to summer camp! I've never been before!" I exclaimed as she was loading her luggage on the coach bus. This was my first time spending a month away from home, and I was excited. We were headed for 'Summer Blast', a camp that was mainly for East High Students. Once I loaded the last bag into the bus, I felt two hands cover my eyes as I lifted my carry on bag off the ground.

"Guess who?"

"Hmm, Zac Efron?" Quickly the hands were removed from my eyes and sI was spun around, facing ultramarine blue eyes.

"For the last time I don't look like Zac Efron. Why does everyone think that but me?" Troy had a playfully frustrated look on his face. It was amusing to look at.

"Probably because it's true. Live with it dude, it's a compliment." A curly haired Chad emerged from behind Troy, Taylor latched on to his arm. I giggled.

"You're encouraging her Chad!" Troy whined. I wrapped my arms around his waist and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"Better?"

"Much!" he replied. Then he pulled out a gift bag with wrapping paper in it. "Here, it's for you."

"Troy, you didn't have to get me anything. What's the reason?"

"I love you." Chad looked like he was about to gag, resulting in a smack in the head from Taylor. Sharpay, Zeke, Ryan and Kelsi all let out an 'aww' as they appeared from behind Taylor and Chad.

"Thanks" I took the gift out of his hand, and began tearing off the wrapping paper. Soon, I took out a pair of pink sweatpants from the bag. "You got me clothes? OMG you know how much I needed new sweatpants, thanks to someone…" I turned to look at Chad.

"Hey! I thought it was my towel. How was I supposed to know that your sweats were in Troy's gym bag?"

"Yeah, yeah Chad. Whatever, it's the past, and now Gabi has a new pair. Speaking of which, turn them over." I obeyed, and was staring into the word's '_Bolton's Girl'_.

"Troy! That is just so cute. So I'm Bolton's babe eh? Do I know him?"

"You might," he replied with a playful smile. "He's tall, has blue eyes, basketball team captain, and the hottest boyfriend you'll ever meet."

"Ego Alert! Duck and Cover!" Chad began running around making the noises of a siren. Soon after Taylor began chasing him to get him to stop. It began a full-on game of tag with everyone except Troy and me. He came up to me, wrapping me in a tight hug.

"So, do you know him?"

"I think I might." I leaned up and gave him a quick kiss, which became much more passionate.

"Oi! Break it up!" Mr. Bolton came running towards the busses, causing Troy and me to break apart. He paused before Troy, giving him a dirty look, before turning towards the crowd of students anxious to get on the bus. "Alright, you will be sitting with your homeroom classes. Ms. Darbus' class is on Bus 1. My class is on bus two. Go grad your seats so we can head off!" Yes, you heard right. Ms. Darbus and Coach Bolton were going. And unfortunately, being our senior year, we were in Troy's dad's homeroom. On the other hand, the entire gang was in the same class. I picked up my carry on and gift from Troy, and we laced our hands together as we headed for the bus. We got on, and I slid into the seat first, Troy following me soon after. We were in the very back of the coach bus, where there was a small table surrounded by a long bench-like seat. We were isolated, which was perfect. I leaned by head against Troy's shoulder, and he put his head to mine, our hands still laced.

"Excited Gabi?" Troy asked, suddenly taking his head off me and holding my gaze.

"You have no idea. When I was little, I would get scared and so I never went to over-night camp. Now, I'm going for a month to camp, with my best friends and boyfriend by my side. How amazing can it get?" I was so excited, and Troy could see.

"And I am so lucky to be able to spend my summer with you. Not to mention we are going to 'U of A' in September. I get to spend so much time with my favorite girl!" At the mention of me being his girl, my hand drifted up to the 'T' necklace hanging around my neck. Troy saw this, and smiled.

"My promise last summer, to spend it with you." He said. He looked guilty. "I never kept that promise." His blue eyes drifted to his hands. I reached my hand to his chin, and lifted it up, joining our eyes.

"No. We did spend time together in the end. It was rough, but I had a very memorable summer, especially near the end."

"Well, it's time for me to make you a new promise. One that I know and want to keep." He reached his hand into his jacket pocket, and took out a box. I stared. He opened up the box to reveal a small silver ring. He took it out and placed it on my right finger. "That is a promise ring. I promise, that after we finish our first year of 'U of A', I will propose to you". I looked at him both surprised and lovingly.

"Troy, you really didn't have to. I knew we would be together anyway." I played with the silver band now wrapped around my finger, and saw an inscription. _'Your Wildcat loves you'. _"Troy! I love it." I leaned in and gave him a small kiss on the lips. He smiled back at me.

"I'm glad. I love you"

"I love you too."

We all arrived at the campsite four hours later. Troy and I had spent the entire time talking about our future, and sneaking the occasional kiss or two. I had changed into my new sweatpants because I was cold. When all the luggage was unloaded from the bus, we were to report to our homeroom teacher to find out cabin assignments and schedules. Troy and I wheeled our luggage to Coach Bolton.

"Hey you two." He greeted. He looked down at his sheet and then looked back up at us. "You guys are both in the first cabin complex. Gabriella you are in Cabin 1 of the complex, and Troy you are in Cabin two." (AN: If you are unsure what a cabin complex it, it is basically when two cabins are attached together, but they have separate rooms inside each of the cabins.

"Great! See you coach!" I said to him, and Troy and I walked towards our cabins. We heard rustling in the bushed surrounding us. We looked around, and from the bushed emerged a small brown rabbit.

"Aww Troy look! Isn't it so cute!"

"Adorable." Troy had a thing against rabbits. One bit him in the first grade, and since then he had never forgiven the species. I giggled at his response, and we continued on to our cabins. A list of the cabin-mates was on each door. "I have Chad, Zeke and Ryan in my cabin. How about you?"

"Sharpay, Taylor and Kelsi!" I replied. "It's perfect. This will be almost as great of a summer as last!"

**Unknown P.O.V**

I was looking around the clearing. The buses had already arrived, and the students were getting organized in their cabins. It was then that I spotted my target. He was walking with his arm around a Latina girl with long, flowing brown hair. He had not changed in appearance, still having the sandy-brown hair and deep blue eyes. Yet he looked stronger. Watching all the students call to him, I realized he was popular. _'Dang! He seems to have no fears, none at all. How am I going to get to him?'_ The boy then turned around, back facing me. His Latina friend had her back towards me as well, and that is when I saw it. Written across her booty was '_Bolton's Girl'_. Then it came to me. Watching her more intently, I noticed a silver ring on her right hand, and I recognized it as a promise ring. '_Perfect'_. My lips turned into a large grin, a plan formulating in my mind.

**AN: So, here's the first chapter. Please tell me what you think of it. Was it okay? I would love to get some reviews, because I don't seem to get that many. Please tell me what you think of the first chapter. Review! I would appreciate it. **

**Thanks for reading and please Review!**


	3. Strange Feeling

Chapter 2 – Strange Feeling Chapter 2 – Strange Feeling

**AN: Thanks to zanessalov3r, br00kel0veswildfire and roxygirlii1505 for reviewing on my last chapter. It meant a lot. This chapter is dedicated to you three!**

**Anyway, congrats Zac on getting the "Choice Breakthrough Actor" award at the MTV movie awards. I watched it, and Zanessa were so cute in the audience. Vanessa even gave Zac a kiss when they announced he won! Also, I read that after he got outside (from backstage doors) Vanessa was waiting for him, ran up to him, and gave him a hug! AAWW**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter!**

**Gabriella's P.O.V**

Troy and I walked into the cafeteria hand in hand, going to breakfast. We had just been on a walk, touring the campus. We head some noises, and saw a bunch of rabbits coming out of the bushes. There were a lot of students already there. Troy had discovered the most amazing thing. His cabin is on the left, and mine was on the right (or the cabin complex). My room, however, was on the far left of my cabin, and his is on the far right. Troy found a door adjoining the two rooms. Last night he snuck into my room, and I fell asleep in his arms. It was almost like when he would sneak through my balcony at nighttime back in Albuquerque. The two of us approached the table, to find the entire gang already there (minus Jason, who was in London visiting relatives).

"Good morning sleepyheads." Chad greeted us. "Have a late night last night?" He said winking at Troy.

"CHAD!" Troy yelled while Taylor smacked him on the head. Troy and Gabriella had decided to keep the joining of the cabins a secret, so it could just be for them.

"Anyway, what took you guys so long?" Sharpay asked. Troy laced his fingers into mine.

"We were on a walk."

"SUURE!" Chad received another smack for this. "Hey! Watch the fro!" Everyone giggled. Troy and I sat down side by side.

When we finished eating our breakfast, Ms. Darbus and Coach Bolton stood up to make an announcement.

"Alright East High Students! Today we will be an all day hike and scavenger hunt. You will be working in your cabin complexes. I will be leading Cabin's 1 and 2, Ms. Darbus 3 and 4, Kiomo (camp Counselor) will be leading cabin's 5, 6 and 7 and Julie (another camp counselor) Cabins 8, 9 and 10. Please go get changed in clothes you will be comfortable in, no heels," he said looking straight at Sharpay, who lowered herself in her seat, "and be ready in front of your cabins in 10 minutes. You are dismissed." Everyone jumped out of their seats, excited for the day's activities.

10 minutes later, Troy, Sharpay, Zeke, Chad, Taylor, Ryan, Kelsi and I were waiting for Mr. Bolton. He arrived shortly.

"Glad you all were on time. Darbus was having trouble with hers." We al laughed. "Anyway, we will be hiking up north. Then for the scavenger hunt you will be put into pairs. Items are ranging from in campgrounds, to as far as the cliffs, which is where we will be going today. Let's start!" Coach Bolton walked, and we all followed. Troy laced his hand into mine, and we walked in comfortable silence. Then, he broke it.

"I have a strange feeling this is going to be an eventful day."

Unknown P.O.V

"So tell me again, why are we waiting? Why not just grab the girl, kill her, and bring her body back to Troy?" My partner in crime was obviously not the sharpest crayon in the bunch.

"Because," I said emphasizing the word, "firstly, we don't know exactly what kind of a relationship Bolton has with the girl. She could just be another slut that he will do and then move on a week later. If that's the case, then she's no good. We need someone he cares about.

"But what about the ring we saw?"

"He could just be a player, creating tons of those." My partner nodded in understanding. "Look, we'll be spying on them, and we'll figure out exactly what their "relationship" is" I said putting relationship in air quotes. "If he is close to her, we'll snatch her."

"But they almost caught us today. I mean really, if it wasn't for that bunny running out, we would have been found out."

"We'll be more careful. For now, let's go on a hike." I said with a smirk.

Gabriella's P.O.V

We had been walking for an hour. The scenery was beautiful. Troy and I had hung back from the group, to talk privately.

"So Gabi how's your first official day at overnight camp?" Troy asked me.

"Honestly?" He nodded. "It's Amazing! I'm having a great time, and having the love of my life with me makes it all the better!" I said. He spun me around to face him, and kissed me square on the lips.

"I love you Gabi"

"I love you too, Troy." We kissed again, and then resumed walking. Eventually Coach Bolton stopped and turned to face the group.

"Well, we're at the spot. Take a look." We were at the top of a 60-foot cliff. The view was breathtaking. There was also a walkway leading to a ledge, which was only 30-feet high.

"Troy, look! Isn't it beautiful?" I asked him.

"Not as much as you." He replied kissing my hair. Chad again began making gagging sounds. I loved it when Troy said these kinds of things to me. It was his flirty charming side, which he says is only brought out when I'm with him.

"Aww, aren't you corny?" I responded to his comment in an equally flirty voice. Troy pressed a hand to his heart.

"Ouch, that hurts you know Gabi. Kiss it better." He playfully demanded. I willingly agreed, and kissed him on the chest directly above where his heart should be.

"Better?" I asked.

"Much."

"Alright people, now we start our scavenger hunt. It will be in pairs, and you guys are allowed to pick partners, seeing as you would probably switch anyway." Coach said eyeing his son. Troy blushed. Great of Coach to always interrupt Troy's and mine flirty moments. Troy put his arm around my shoulder, signaling that I was his partner. I giggled and laid my head against his chest. I was a full head shorter than him, and it came in handy. Coach handed us our list, and we walked away from the group.

"Shovel, Pinecone, CELL PHONE! Is this a joke? Ms. Darbus probably wants us to give her our cell phones so she can take them away! I laughed.

"So you want to risk losing?"

"If it means keeping my cell phone, yes." I eyed him. "Gabi, it's my only link to society and form of communication. I can't call you at night if I lost it."

"Okay then. But don't forget, we still have our secret door! Besides, it doesn't say what form the cell phone has to be in. We can draw one, and submit that!"

"You are just to smart."

"That's why you love me" I replied in a cocky attitude.

"I know" he replied with equal cockiness. We continued like this, flirting and laughing, until we had found all of the items on our list. Things were going well. The day was turning out to be perfect. Once everyone had found all their items, and had met back in the mess hall, we were free to do what we wanted. Troy and I had decided to go on a walk like we had in the morning, because it was calming and peaceful. We also just enjoyed spending time with each other.

"So, after dinner we have our camp fire, and then we can go back to the cabins, and talk. Right?" I asked him.

"Correct."

"I'm so excited Troy! This is going to be my first ever campfire! I can't wait; it's going to be amazing! We get to sing, dance and perform plays by the fire, while the fireflies and moon shine brightly around us!"

"Yup, all that and more. It's going to be a night that you'll never forget! I told you today was going to be an eventful day!"

**AN: Well, there's the chapter! I hope you enjoyed it. Please review and tell me what you think. Is the story going well, or do you think I'm rushing the action a bit too much. Please tell me. I enjoy reading your reviews! **

**Xoxo, **

_**Vfanforlife**_


	4. Campfire Performance

Chapter 3 – Campfire Performance

**Chapter 3 – Campfire Performance**

**AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter. I'm glad people are taking an interest to my story (and my other, "I'll Never Leave You".) This is dedicated to anybody who reviewed last time; I loved hearing what you had to say! The official HSM3 website is up, and it's cool. We can see pictures of the entire main cast beside a red carpet. Check it out if you haven't seen it! Anyway, here's the next chapter…**

**Disclaimer – I don't own High School Musical, but Zac Efron will one day be mine! (lol)**

**Gabriella's P.O.V**

"Troy, I know you love lasagna, but this is a bit extreme." Troy had come back to our dinner table with a large pile of lasagna on his plate. I was munching on a breadstick.

"Well, it's not as good as yours, but it's good enough!" He replied.

"I just love how you manage to throw a complement in when talking to Gabi, especially so smoothly." Taylor commented. At that I blushed. "What? It's true. You're lucky that you found someone like him, Gabi."

"I know." Troy sat down and I kissed him on the lips lightly. He kissed back, and then dug into his food. It was amusing to watch how guys would do anything for food. That's how I got Troy to help me. Whenever I have to build something, or need help with studying, or just want him to come over, I make him my "famous" (he calls it) lasagna and breadsticks. I continued to munch on my breadstick. I then turned to Taylor.

"Where are Kelsi and Ryan?"

"Oh, they finished eating, so they are taking a walk." She responded.

"UUUH, my feet hurt so much! Why did we have to walk so much today!" Sharpay complained.

"You should have not worn your heals." Zeke responded.

"But hello, I have to look fashionable.

"Yeah, I'm sure the bunnies loved your designer high-heeled boots" Chad commented. He ducked his head down to avoid the smack, but it never came.

"What? No smack today?" he asked Taylor.

"Nope, I agree." Sharpay glared at her. "What? It's true. You should have worn hiking boots, like me and Gabs. And we still managed to look good. Don't you agree Troy?"

"Yeah, Gabi looked good." I blushed again. I could see tomato sauce on his left cheek.

"Thank you Troy. Oh and Troy, wipe your face, there is sauce oh your cheek." Troy purposely missed wiping his cheek.

"Where? I can't seem to get it?" He said with a smile on his face. Taylor, Zeke and Sharpay began laughing, and Chad just looked confused.

"Fine, I'll get it." I wiped the sauce off with my fingers, leaving just a little bit on his face.

"I think you missed a spot."

"Really?"

"Yup." I laughed. I leaned over and kissed his cheek where the sauce was, getting rid of the last bit on his face.

"Happy?" I asked him.

"Very. Thank you."

"Welcome." I turned to face the gang, seeing a still laughing Zeke, Taylor, and Sharpay. Chad still looked confused.

"I don't get it. Troy didn't even try to get the sauce off." Chad said rubbing his head.

"That's the point dude." Troy replied. "I just love the feeling of her lips on me." I blushed.

"TROY!" We all turned around to see Coach running towards us.

"Yeah dad?"

"You need to get something ready to perform for the campfire. Somebody backed out of their song, so now you need to."

"But dad, I can't."

"Sure you can. Do something with Gabriella, you're amazing together." I blushed again. Boy was it becoming a habit. Oh I also failed to mention that Coach totally accepted our relationship, and the whole singing thing.

"C'mon Troy. It's my first campfire, and it would be so cool to do something with you!" I gave him the puppy dog eyes.

"Gabi, you know I can't say no to the puppy dog eyes. Fine dad, we'll do something." With that, Troy and I got up and ran to the cabin, to rehearse.

**Unknown P.O.V**

I had been spying on Troy and his mystery girl, and figured out that they are incredibly close. He calls her Gabi, which I assume is for Gabriella, so I looked up her name on the East High website (yes I did bring my laptop with me where I'm staying.) Turns out that her full name is Gabriella Montez, and her and Troy did a show together. They were also voted "couple of the year" on the yearbook elections (they had the winners posted on the website.) I researched her even more, and figured out she's a brainiac. Why she's hanging out with Troy I don't know, but I do know that they are "in love", as I heard a weird boy in a pink hat say to a mousey kind of girl. Suddenly my partner walked into the room.

"So, what did you find out?" he asked me.

"Girl's a brainiac. Her name is Gabriella Montez. Won tons of scholastic decathlon competitions. Moves around constantly with her mother. Was in a musical with Bolton, ad apparently has been dating him ever since. What did you hear?" My partner has been listening around the campgrounds while everyone was having dinner.

"Apparently Bolton and this Gabriella girl are going to be performing a song tonight together, and everyone is hyped up to hear it. They supposedly sing beautifully, which confirms the musical thing. It seems everyone knows that they are together, and are not going to get in between their relationship. Even the cheerleaders gave up last year when he wouldn't dump her. I heard that the only time he ever left her was in their first summer together, when he became obsessed with her future. They were back together a week later, and have remained together stronger than ever, ever since." My partner explained. He got a lot of information for an hour and a half.

"Well, seems we have a super couple here. Inseparable. Perfect."

"Oh, and Bolton's dad is at the camp as well. He approves of the Gabriella girl."

"Again, it just makes our plan more perfect. Let's go. We have a performance to attend tonight." And we headed out the door to hear Bolton and the girl sing.

**Gabriella's P.O.V**

Troy and I had been preparing for an hour and a half now. We were ready. Kelsi wrote the song we are singing. She said that it was going to be used in the musical, until she wrote breaking free. I love the song, and Troy does as well. It was now dark outside and the East High students were gathering around the large bonfire that was surrounded by many logs. Troy was sitting on the ground, leaning against a log, and I was in between his legs with my head resting against his chest. Occasionally I would get a kiss on the head.

"And now, we have a presentation by our very own Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez. They're going to be singing for us." I got up, and pulled Troy up with me. We walked to the center of the circle, around the fire. And became singing. AN: Gabriella – _italics, _Troy – **_italics bold, _**both – _underlined italic__;_ the song is _This is Me _by Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas from their new movie, Camp Rock. I think it represents how Gabriella has had to struggle, and yeah. And the movie is Camp Rock, and this is a Campfire. lol

_I've always been the kind of girl  
That hid my face  
So afraid to tell the world  
What I've got to say  
But I have this dream  
Right inside of me  
I'm gonna let it show  
It's time to let you know  
to let you know  
_

I turned to face Troy.

_  
This is real  
This is me  
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now  
Gonna let light shine on me  
Now I've found who I am  
There's no way to hold it in  
No more hiding who I wanna be  
This is me_

_Do you know what it's like  
To feel so in the dark  
To dream about a life  
Where you're the shining star  
Even though it seems  
They it's too far away  
I've got to believe in myself  
It's the only way_

_This is real  
This is me  
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now  
Gonna let light shine on me  
Now I've found who I am  
There's no way to hold it in  
No more hiding who I wanna be  
This is me_

_**You're the voice I hear inside my head  
The reason that I'm singing  
I need to find you  
I gotta find you  
You're the missing piece I need  
The song inside of me  
I need to find you  
**__I gotta find you_

**_This is real  
This is me  
__I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now__  
__Gonna let light shine on me__  
__Now I've found who I am  
There's no way to hold it in  
No more hiding who I wanna be  
__This is me_**

_You're the missing piece I need  
The song inside of me_**__**

This is me

_You're the voice I hear inside my head  
The reason that I'm singing_**__**

_Now I've found who I am  
There's no way to hold it in  
No more hiding who I wanna be__  
__This is me_

After we had finished singing, everyone clapped. Troy and I bowed, and then went back to our seats. The campfire continued and was a memorable experience. After we were all walking back to our cabins. Troy led me to my cabin before going to his.

"So, was the campfire as good as you expected?" He asked me.

"More. It was perfect. And us singing together just completed the night."

"Well, missy. Go to sleep, and I'll come to your room at 4 o'clock just like last night to talk, when everyone is officially asleep." I smiled. He remembered we planned to meet again.

"Alright, make sure to set your alarm so you wake up." I reminded him.

"Will do. Now get to sleep!" He kissed me lightly on the lips, and I walked into my cabin. Sharpay, Kelsi and Taylor suddenly ambushed me.

"OMG you were amazing at the campfire!" Taylor screamed hugging me.

"I can't believe you still remember that song! It wrote it for you ages ago!" Kelsi screamed.

"Guys, c'mon, I want to go to sleep." I said. They reluctantly let me go. "I promise I'll tell you about it more tomorrow." With that their faces lit up. We walked to our separate rooms. I went into mine, and sat down on the bed. My room was perfect. I had a backdoor, just like Taylor. Sharpay got a good view from her window, so she didn't complain. The backdoor locked from the inside, and I made sure it was locked every night. I also had the secret door, which you couldn't find unless you knew it was there. There was a small drawer for my clothing, and my suitcase was piled against the wall. There was a blanket that my mom had knitted for me on my bed, and pictures adorned my walls. Most were of Troy and me, the gang, but there were some posters of Zac Efron, because he was my celebrity crush. I explained to Troy the reason was because he looked like his twin, but he was reluctant to believe that. It still amused him I had posters among my pictures of the gang. I walked up to the wall and looked at my favorite picture. It was of Troy and me in winter. We were both spinning around with snowflakes fluttering around us (the picture was taken at the ski lodge, which we visited for the second year in a row together in December). My mother had taken the picture, and had caught the perfect angle. Troy and I were looking at each other, our hands spread out wide at our sides. It was a perfect picture.

Drawing my mind away from my thoughts, I changed into my pajamas. I lay on the bed underneath my covers. I drifted off to sleep thinking of the fantastic evening I had with Troy.

**Unknown P.O.V**

"Wasn't that the sweetest performance you have ever seen?" my partner asked me sarcastically.

"Yeah. A perfect memory for Troy."

"So, he cares for this girl?" My partner could be incredibly stupid sometimes.

"More than cares for her. This girl is his life, which makes our plan so much more brilliant. Speaking of which, I think we should start putting out plan into action." I smirked. Together we walked through the woods, minds set on fulfilling our plans.

**AN: Well, what did you think? The song I used was from Camp Rock, which is a Disney Channel Original Movie coming out June 20th. When it premiered on Friday, and I heard it, I just had to use it in my Story. Tell me what you think. **

**Thanks for Reading and Please Review!**

**Xoxo, **

_**Vfanforlife**_


	5. You're Bolton's Girl

Chapter 4 – You're Bolton's Girl

**Chapter 4 – You're Bolton's Girl**

**AN: Well, I decided to update quickly for you peoples. I am enjoying writing this story, and want to get my thoughts and plans out. My exams end this weekend, and so I will be able to update more often. Wouldn't want you guys in suspense for too long! Anyway, here's the next chapter. **

**I don't, and will probably never, own High School Musical. **

**Gabriella's P.O.V**

I woke up, looking at the clock in my room. The red numbers showed that it was midnight. Great! Four hours until I get to see Troy again. I tried falling back asleep, but couldn't. When I finally did, I felt hands shaking me awake. Assuming it was Troy, I quickly opened my eyes and sat up in bed. That's when I realized that I was wrong. Instead of staring into Troy's blue eyes, I stared into two sets of eyes, one green and one brown. They were wearing masks and all black, so I could not identify who they were. The one with brown eyes grabbed me, covering my mouth so I couldn't scream. I struggled against him, trying to make as much noise as possible, so Troy would hear me. My plan was unsuccessful. The man lifted me off the ground, holding me around my neck.

"Now my dear, don't struggle and talk loudly, and we promise not to kill lover boy in the next cabin." I froze. I didn't want Troy to get hurt. "That's a good girl."

"Who…who are you? How did you get in here?" I whispered, fear evident in my voice.

"Now honey, that's not important. We know who you are though. You're Bolton's Girl, and that's all that we need. And as to answer how we got in here? Knives are always helpful in cutting doorknobs out of wooden doors." He smirked.

"Why?" I asked, again my voice in a whisper.

"All in good time, sweetheart." The put a cloth to my nose, and I quickly gave into the blackness that was surrounding me."

**Unknown P.O.V**

"Who knew she would stop so quickly?" my partner said.

"Obviously she cares about Bolton, and doesn't want him to get injured." I grabbed the girl from my partner's arms. She was out cold, not even moving. "Did you leave the note?" My partner nodded.

"Why are we leaving a note again? I mean it's a girls cabin, won't the girls find it, not Bolton."

"How stupid are you? Remember that he is coming into her room through their secret passageway at 4? He'll find it then. Take the girls phone too! We want to have Bolton's number with us." My partner ran to the girl's dresser, and took the cell phone and charger that was lying there. With that, the two of us (and girl in my arms) we left the room, and went to the car that was parked outside. I placed her in the back seat, and got into the drivers seat, my partner sitting in the passengers seat. We drove off with our silent engine into the night.

**Troy's P.O.V**

_Beep! Beep! Beep! _Beep! Beep! SMACK! I hit my alarm after I realized it was reality and not just a beeping in my dream. When I saw the time I realized why I had my alarm on. Quickly getting dressed, I walked towards Gabriella's and my secret passageway. When I opened the door, I found her room empty, covers on her bed drawn. Where could she be? I walked around, when I saw the note taped on her drawers. I ripped it off, opened it, and began reading.

_Bolton, _

_You probably don't remember me, but I remember you. _

_I remember what you did to me. _

_Thought I would forget?_

_You were wrong. _

_Nice girl you got here. Latina; good choice._

_I'll make sure to tell her you love her when she awakes. Could be a while. _

_Don't come looking for me. You'll have your girl soon enough. _

_I'll bring her body back so you can properly burry it. _

_But not before I have a little fun. _

_Remember this Bolton; everything that happens to 'Bolton's Girl' is payback for what you did to me. _

_I'll tell her that as well. _

_Goodnight Bolton, Sleep tight. Gabriella won't. _

I screamed. I screamed louder than I ever had, tears streaming down my face. She was gone, kidnapped, and I didn't know who did it. Everybody I knew liked me, I didn't remember anyone who didn't. I must have woken up the entire cabin complex, because Sharpay and Kelsi came running into the room, and Taylor ran to open the door for Chad, Ryan and Zeke. Taylor returned with the guys. Everyone had a worried look on his or her face.

"Troy, what happened? Where's Gabs?" Taylor asked me frantically.

"She…she's…gone." I said, fresh leaking from my eyes. The girls burst into tears.

"Dude, what do you mean she's gone?" Chad asked, concerned.

"She was taken! She was kidnapped!" I screamed. The girls were crying harder now, their boyfriends comforting them. How I wished I could be comforting Gabi right now. Suddenly my dad and Ms. Darbus burst through the door.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE? YOU WOKE UP THE ENTIRE CAMP SITE! YOU BETTER EXPLAIN – " He never finished his sentence. His eyes looked at me, and he immediately calmed down. "Troy, what happened?" I couldn't repeat my words, my breath unsteady and tears staining my face, so I handed him and Ms. Darbus the note. Ms. Darbus began screaming, while my dad took out his cell phone.

"Hello? 911? We have an emergency. A girl of ours has been kidnapped with a note left behind. Please send your police A.S.A.P" my dad nodded a couple of times, responding yes and no to some questions. Finally, he gave the police the address, and hung up. He came up to me and wrapped his arms around me in a hug.

"Dad…th…they took her. How…how could I have not pro…protected her." My voice cracked.

"Troy, it's not your fault."

"YES IT IS! DON'T YOU SEE? THEY TOOK HER BECAUSE OF ME!! SHE'S GONNA GET HURT BECAUSE OF ME!" I collapsed in my dad's arms crying. He picked me up, and carried me to the mess hall, my crying friends and sobbing Ms. Darbus following.

The police arrived within minutes. Caution tape was put around the cabin complex, because it was considered a crime scene. The police had taken the note, and were reviewing it. My father had his arms wrapped around my shoulders. Each member of my cabin was holding a crying girlfriend in his or her arms. The rest of camp was told to go back to bed, and they would find out what happened in the morning. Mrs. Montez was called, but she was told to stay home to be safe. A police officer approached me.

"Troy, did you hear anything, you being in the room closest to hers?" I was still crying.

"No. I swear I heard nothing."

"What made you go into her room? Answer honestly." My father eyed me at this question.

"We found out we had a secret passageway between our rooms. Gabriella, this being her first ever time at overnight camp, was becoming homesick. I went into her room last night at the same time and comforted her. I was going to do the same tonight when…" I couldn't finish my sentence.

"Why 4 in the morning? Why not midnight or another time?"

"Because 4 in the morning is when her father died, and so she tends to get homesick the worst at that time."

"Yet when you came in, she wasn't there."

"Yeah" my voice cracked.

"It says in the note this was done for payback. Do you know anyone who hated you?"

"Not that I can remember…" I began thinking. "Wait." I remembered now. The one person who had hated me ever since we were in seventh grade. The one person who had sent me to the hospital and was arrested for it. The only person that had caused me to fear for my own life, and now Gabriella's. Those green eyes were what had haunted me for the past five years. I could never forget those eyes.

**Gabriella's P.O.V**

I woke up in a cold, dark basement, and my head pounding. The memories of what had happened to me flooded back into my mind. Why was I here? Was Troy okay? I was alone, so these questions remained unanswered. When I tried to stretch, I realized my arms were handcuffed together behind my back. They were handcuffed around a pole that was extending from the ceiling to the floor. I was scared. Suddenly, the door to the basement swung open, light flooding into the room. A man walked down the stairs, wearing all black, but no mask on his face. He had scar going across his right eye, and had black hair. But it was the eyes that send a shiver down my spine. The eyes were green, but were so cold and hard. He walked right up to me; close enough for me to smell the stench of cigarettes and alcohol on his breath.

"Well, Gabriella, glad you've woken up. You're a very heavy sleeper." He chuckled at his own joke. "I bet you're just dying to know why you're here. Let me show you." I stood up, went to the corner of the room, and grabbed a book off the shelf. When he returned, I saw that it was a photo album. He opened it up, and took out a picture, showing me. He was standing in the picture, with a boy beside him. They looked like they were 10 years old. He had his arm around the boy, the boy doing the same to him. When I saw the boy beside him, I gasped. The blue eyes and sandy brown hair were unmistakable.

"Wanna know the reason? Bolton. Bolton's the reason you're here, and Bolton's the reason you're gonna die here." He began laughing a cold, evil laugh. The kind you only heard in movies. But I knew this was not a movie.

This was reality.

**AN: OOOHH the Drama is beginning. Is it suspenseful? Did you guys like it? I hope you did. Please review and tell me what you think. I want to know exactly what you think. Did I rush into the plot to fast? Please tell me. **

**Thanks for Reading and Please Review. **

**Xoxo, **

_**Vfanforlife**_


	6. Past Memories

Chapter 5 – Past Memories

**Chapter 5 – Past Memories**

**AN: Thanks for everyone who's reading my story. I'm glad you guys like it. This story is becoming more and more intense. I also like how some of you like the romantic/mysterious twist to the story. There will definitely be more suspense and mystery in the upcoming chapters. Anyway, Here's the next chapter, enjoy!**

**Troy's P.O.V**

_Flashback_

_I was walking down the street with my girlfriend Hannah's arm linked through mine. We were only in seventh grade, and so it was more like 'hanging out' than it was really dating. I was walking her back home after a walk in the park. When we arrived at her house, I saw a distant figure at the end of the street, a familiar figure. I turned to Hannah. _

"_Hannah, go into your house, now. And lock the doors."_

"_Why?" She asked me._

"_Daniel" was all I could say. Her face turned pale. Everyone knew the story of Daniel Anderson. How we used to be best friends, since we were little. Him, Chad and me were inseparable. One day, Hannah and I began dating. Later I found out that he had liked Hannah, and was mad at me for asking her out. He attempted suicide, and was taken off to a mental institution. I though I would never see his face again. _

"_Hannah. GO!" I told her. She kissed me on the cheek, and ran into her house. I could hear the lock 'click' as the figure approached me. _

"_Bolton, we meet again." He said with a smirk on his face. _

"_What do you want, Daniel?" I asked, trying to remain calm. _

"_Payback. You ruined my life, I want to ruin yours." _

"_What do you mean?" You took away Hannah. Took her away from me." He looked furious. _

"_I didn't know you liked her man. I would have not asked her out if I knew." I defended myself, even though I knew it wouldn't help._

"_You don't care! You just want to do everything for yourself. I hate you, and I will never forgive you for what you did to me?" He pulled something out from underneath his blue jacket. I recognized the silver metal. It was a gun. I was afraid now, knowing what Daniel could do to me._

"_Daniel, just put the gun down. You don't need to do that."_

"_Yes I do. It's time your life was taken away from you, like you took mine from me" With those final words, he pulled the trigger. I fell to the ground as I was consumed by darkness._

_A week later I woke up in the hospital. I had a severe gunshot wound beneath my heart. He had just narrowly missed. But it was the other news that was worse. Hannah's body had been found in her room. She has been shot as well. The police caught Daniel, and sent him to the place for Juvenile Delinquents, because he was too young to go to prison. Nobody thought that a boy in seventh grade had the guts to shoot someone._

_End of Flashback_

Tears were streaming down my face. I turned to my dad.

"What if Gabriella turns out like Hannah? Dad I can't lose her too!" I began sobbing into my dad's shirt.

"Troy, that's not going to happen, we'll save Gabriella." My dad retold the story of what had happened to Hannah to the police officers, while I sat there crying into his shirt.

**Gabriella's P.O.V**

I had just finished hearing why my kidnapper, whose name was Daniel, had taken me. He said it was for revenge, for what Troy had done to him. He told me his past with Troy, but I already knew. Troy had told me about Hannah when he had been crying on the day of the anniversary of her death. I knew the entire story, and I knew what Daniel was telling me was lies.

"So, Bolton failed to mention this little tidbit of information, didn't he?" I looked at him. Confidence filled me inside.

"Nope I already knew. I also know what you did to him."

"TO HIM?" Good Job Gabi, get him more angry with you. "HE FUCKIN' RUINED MY LIFE! HE DESERVED IT!!" He calmed down. "Unfortunately, he survived. You won't be so lucky, my pretty." He left the room, only to come back with a laptop.

"What are you doing?" I said, my confidence back. Not way was I going to die without a fight.

"I'm setting up a webcam. I think it's time Troy saw you again." He approached me, un-cuffing my hands from around the pole, and handcuffing them back together in front of my body.

**Troy's P.O.V**

New of what had happened spread fast throughout campgrounds. Everyone knew that Gabriella had been kidnapped during the night. Everyone got the day off, because it was stressful enough. I was in the mess hall with the gang, my father, Ms. Darbus, and the police. I had my laptop with me, which I had brought to camp, and I was e-mailing my mother with news on what happened. Before I could click send, an instant message appeared.

**D-And would like to show you a webcast. Would you care to join?**

D-And… "Dad that's Daniel. That was his username in seventh grade!" I looked at the police, who signaled for me to accept.

"We can track where the signal is coming from while you watch." A police officer said. She was one her phone in a second. I turned my face back to the screen. The room was black, and I could see a limp body in front of the screen. My eyes watered up.

"Dad, it's Gabi". My voice was cracking as I spoke. Then a voice was heard.

'_Hey Troy, I've missed talking to you? How have you been?' _Daniel must have been behind the webcam. _'Gabi and Me are doing great! See, she's perfectly well, don't you agree.' _He zoomed in closely on Gabriella's limp figure. _'Healthy as a horse, this one is.'_

'_Now, for my presentation. I told her about your past Troy, but she already knew. Good boy, warning her in advance.' _There was silence for a moment. _'Oh, it seems like princess is waking up!' _I could see Gabriella stirring.

'_Hey Gabriella, how are you feeling?'_ She turned her face and glared at him.

'_Bastard!' _She replied.

'_Ah ah ah! Not in front of the boyfriend. It's not nice to swear, it could ruin your image. I think you need to be taught some respect.' _Another figure was now in view of the webcam. A large boot kicked Gabriella in the side, and she gasped in pain. The leg continuously repeated the blows to her side, occasionally drifted to her head. This continued for a couple of minutes. I couldn't bear to watch. I turned my face, but that would not block tthe screams of pain coming from Gabriella. A voice brought me back to the screen.

'_Hey Gabriella, I have a question. Would you die for Troy?' _I gulped. Please say no Gabi, just say no. I knew fully well, that those were not her intentions.

'_In a heartbeat.' _The legs kicked her hard, and sent her flying into the pole extending from the ceiling to the floor. Her head hit the pole with a sickening crack, and her body fell limp around it.

'_Funny Troy, that was what Hannah said as well. Remember how she ended up?' _The screen became black, signaling the end of the webcast. Tears were streaming down my face at the pain that Gabi must have been in. One thought caused my heart to drop.

Daniel intended to do the same to Gabi, as he did to Hannah.

**Sorry this Chapter was Short, but I promise to make it up to you next chapter. I just wanted to clear if up for everyone what happened in Troy's Past and who the kidnapper was. Tell me what you think please!**

**Thanks for Reading and Review Please!**

**Xoxo**

_**Vfanforlife**_


	7. Beginning the Search

Chapter 6 – Beginning the Search

**Chapter 6 – Beginning the Search**

**Disclaimer – Looks around nope still don't own HSM. So sad, isn't it?**

**AN: Well, another day, a new chapter! Anyway I want to say that this story is getting more reviews that "I'll Never Leave You". I'm honored that you like this story more. I am sorry I haven't updated in a long time, but I have been really busy. I just recently updates "I'll Never Leave You" and now this. Also, I'm glad some of you have taken an interest in my other story "Love Doesn't Come Smoothly". If I get a large enough reaction, I may begin writing it really soon!**

**Onto other news, have you guys heard Vanessa's new CD "Identified"? Isn't it AMAZING! OMG I bought it the day it came out and now I am listening to it day and night! It's an obsession. My mom even has some of the songs memorized I listen to them so much. My favorite songs are "Don't Leave", "Paper Cut", "Don't Ask Why", "Identified" and "Amazed", but the entire album is AMAZING!**

**Also, Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens' vacation was "The vacation of a lifetime" as Zac described it at the ESPY awards. How could it not be? Being with the person you love, in the tropical place of Turks and Caicos, what more could you ask for? I'm glad they had a good time, but sadly, all good things have to come to an end.**

**Anyway, enough of my chatting, here is the new chapter. Enjoy!**

The police were working hard to try and locate where it came from. The wait was agonizing. I was waiting in the mess hall, the gang surrounding me. My dad was talking to the police and my mom, who had arrived earlier today, was talking to Ms. Montez on the phone. Chad was the one to break the silence.

"Man, she looked horrible." He received a smack from Taylor.

"You don't say that! You comfort people, not make them feel worse."

"Guys, it's okay. I know what you all are thinking. I just want them to get some leads." As if his dad read his mind, he was walking towards the gang. "Did they find anything?"

"Yeah, they think they have a location. They had sent out dogs and policemen to scour the area, for any clues or evidence. But they did track a general location of the webcast. Do you remember anywhere familiar close to here? A house, relative, anything?" I tried to remember back. Any relatives? No. Any houses? No. Cottages? Wait, He had a family cottage not to far from here.

"No dad, I don't. Sorry." I had to lie. Gabriella would be killed if I got the police more involved.

"Oh, well just think and maybe something will come to you."

"Alright Dad." He walked away from me, heading back to the policemen. I couldn't let Gabriella get injured. She was my life. She will be okay, if I find her myself. This was now a one-man job, and I wasn't going to fail.

"Troy, dude. Where are you going?" I turned around to see Chad and Ryan looking at me.

"A walk. I need to wrap my head around some things."

"Want us to come with you? I mean you might want someone to talk to." Chad offered.

"No, it's okay. Go back to Kelsi, Sharpay and Taylor. They need you now as well." They nodded, gave me a man-hug, and walked back towards the mess hall. I turned around to see the scene that surrounded me. Police tape surrounded our entire Cabin complex. Policemen were walking around the campgrounds, with police cars parked in the usually empty parking lot. Instead of running around, campers were walking around slowly, giving me sorrowful looks as they passed. It was those looks that were inspiring me to go out and save Gabi.

I turned and kept walking towards the dirt path that led towards the main highway. From there I could find the road that led to Daniel's cottage. Gabriella had to be there, and I was going to bring her back home. I was beginning the long search of finding the love of my life.

**Jack's P.O.V **

Watching my son walk around with his head hanging low depressed me. He was suffering so much emotionally, and it was only a matter of time before he finally cracked. The police had been working non-stop, especially since the web-cast, but no new information had turned up. What was going to happen to Gabriella? Everyone was worried sick for the intelligent girl. To think, I used to hate her because I thought she was distracting.

Flashback

_Troy had just walked into the house, Gabriella by his side. The two of them were about to walk to his room when I called to Troy._

"_Yeah dad?" His head pocked into the room._

"_Son, can I talk to you for a minute, alone?" I said giving him a look. Evidently he didn't notice it because he looked at me like nothing was wrong._

"_Sure." He replied. I saw him remove his head from the room and tell Gabriella to wait for him in his room. He then re-entered the room, and sat down across from me. "What do you want to talk to me about dad?"_

"_Troy, where were you during free-period today?" _

"_I was with Gabriella in the library. We were working together with Kelsi on the musical." The musical, I knew it. Another thing that Gabriella had pulled him into that distracted him._

"_And where were you supposed to be?" I questioned him._

"_Umm, I don't know."_

"_Troy, you had a basketball practice today! But instead of coming and being with your team, you went and hung out with that Girl!" I never called her by her name, either that girl or Miss Montez. This got on Troy's nerves. _

"_That Girl is named Gabriella…" before he could continue, I interrupted him. _

"_And she's very nice. I have heard all of this before son. But, she's distracting you. If you want to have a future, you need to shape up and start focusing on more important things than her."_

"_What if she is my future?" He asked. This got my blood boiling. _

"_She isn't, you're just being stupid. In a month you'll forget about that girl and get your real life back." Troy looked at me coldly, as if I had said the worst thing to him, and stormed out of the room._

_End of Flashback_

How wrong I had been. Gabriella had been Troy's lifeline. Whenever he was depressed, most likely he had either gotten into a fight with her, made her upset, was worried about her or had something to do with her. I was sure that if something terrible happened to her, the Troy we knew would be long gone. I was so lost in my thought I didn't see a figure come behind me.

"Jack?" I turned to see Darbus and Lucille standing behind me. Lucille's eyes were red, evidently from crying, and I could see so were Darbus'.

"Hey." I stood up and wrapped my upset wife in my arms, consoling her. Together we turned to face Darbus.

"Honey, what were you thinking about?" I heard the voice of Lucille asking me.

"I was thinking back on how horrible I treated Gabriella in the beginning. How I thought she was a little fling of Troy's, and that he would be over her in a month. I didn't realize how important she was to him, and how she affected him." I could feel tears coming to my eyes.

"But you eventually gave in. You now understand it. Gabriella knows that you just wanted the best for Troy." I turned to look at Lucille, and nodded.

"You're right." I turned to look at Darbus, who seemed to be touched by our memories of the Latina brainiac.

"Gabriella was the only girl who seemed to keep your son straight." He looked like she was close to tears. "Ever since he got together with her he always completed his homework, there were no more disruptions in class. And from what I heard from other teachers, his GPA went up significantly."

"That's because Gabriella was always at our house doing assignments with him, or forcing him to read a novel he was supposed to." Lucille answered. We all smiled at the thought.

"She really did have a positive effect on him." I responded.

"And that could all change in a second." My wife commented.

"Don't talk like that. She'll be back soon, and we'll have her back pushing Troy to finish his University papers. I remember Troy was overjoyed when he found out that Gabriella was going to U of A with him. He was on top of the world, and nothing could bring him down." I reminisced.

"You know Jack, for once I agree with you." Darbus commented. I was shocked, to say the least. "Gabriella will be back. She has to be back, because without her Mr. Bolton will not be able to function properly. When she's around, I can see. I remember this one day…"

_Flashback Begins_

_It was an ordinary day, except for the fact that Troy Bolton seemed to be constantly staring at the door. It then dawned on Ms. Darbus as to the reason. Gabriella Montez was not in school yet, which was quite upsetting seeing as she is always on time. Suddenly another male figure ran into the room._

"_Sorry for being late Ms. D, but there was a HUGE crash on Bridgeview Ave. I couldn't get by." Jason yelled as he ran to his seat. She let him by and was about to begin the class when she noticed one of her students had gone completely pale. _

"_Mr. Bolton, are you not feeling well?" Ms. Darbus asked. Troy didn't respond, instead he turned to look at Jason._

"_You sure it was on Bridgeview? Maybe Bridgeheights?" He asked. _

"_Nope, I'm positive it was on Bridgeview. I live on that street and I couldn't even get off the street because it was right at where Bridgeview intersects McGill Crescent." Troy's face seemed to have paled even more. _

"_What kind of cars?" Troy asked. Ms. Darbus wanted to continue, but she could see that this concerned Troy and she let him continue. Having a student pass out would be even more problematic. _

"_Uhh, the car that caused the crash was a White Truck. It wasn't damaged that much. There was also a golden-looking Camry don't own, Toyota does that was totaled. They say that the two passengers were killed on impact." At this news Troy turned green._

"_Dude, what's the matter?" Chad Danforth asked. _

"_Gab…Gab…" was all that Troy could get out. The class understood immediately. That was the kind of car Gabriella's mother drove. Troy looked like he was about to pass out when a familiar face walked through the door._

"_Hey Ms. Darbus, sorry I was late. Here's a note from my mom. We were exiting my house when we got right caught in the drama. There was a car accident right beside out driveway, so we had to wait until the police, ambulance and…" Two arms wrapping around her cut her off. She turned in these arms to face two familiar blue eyes. _

"_Troy? What's wrong?" She asked._

"_You…Camry…totaled…crash…thought…you…died…" Troy responded. He was stuttering, signaling that he was terrified, relieved and shocked at the same time. Gabriella understood what had happened. She wrapped her arms around him. They remained there until Ms. Darbus interrupted them._

"_Well, I'm glad to know you are safe now Ms. Montez, now could you please get Mr. Bolton to his seat so I can begin my class?" She asked. Gabriella nodded her head and walked with Troy to the back, where there was a spare seat beside her. Ms. Darbus understood that Troy needed to sit with her in order to continue focusing in class, especially after the scare he had._

_End of Flashback_

Ms. Darbus finished telling the story to the Bolton's.

"The look on Troy's face when Gabriella walked into that room spoke a thousand words. He was so relieved to see her. It was then that I knew that he truly loved her, and would do anything to save her." Darbus' words touched me.

"Just like we will. Gabriella will be brought back home to us, safe and sound. We need her, and I don't think God would be so cruel as to take that innocent girl's life away. She inspires so many people, helps them, and brings a smile to anyone's day. Especially, young basketball star that adore her." I replied. I knew we had to save Gabriella, not only for her, but for Troy as well.

**Troy's P.O.V**

I continued walking down the familiar highway that led to the cottage I so desperately needed to find. I didn't know if I had missed it, or if I was even walking in the right direction, but something told me that I was getting closer and closer. I could just feel it. Just as I thought the road could keep going forever, I found it. I saw the sign that was worn out, but you could see distinguish the letters.

**Anderson Family Cottage**

I had found the dirt driveway that led to the cottage. I walked up to the sign, and noticed the small-carved words that were written underneath.

**And Bolton's Too!**

I remembered when this was written. Daniel and I, as a joke, had carved it in. We were best friends, so we thought we could share a cottage to. I stayed the entire summer there, my parents coming up to stay for two weeks each month, and then two weeks a month were just Daniel and Me. We had the best time together, until he killed Hannah. That ruined it for good. His parents left him, and the only person that he had to turn to was his new best friend Markus, who was so stupid he made Jason look like an Einstein.

I walked slowly up the path, uncertain of what awaited me. I was desperate to find Gabriella, but if I got myself hurt, then that wouldn't help out situation at all. I quietly walked through the trees, until I saw it. It looked exactly the same as it had all those years ago. Wood lodged together with brick, resulting in a two-story cottage that looked like a palace. I looked at my surroundings, remembering everything. The familiar pond, where when children Daniel and I had fed ducks and gone swimming. The swing hanging off the willow tree, where out mothers had sat together rocking us when we were infants. Best friends forever, we believed we would be, but things change. I was so lost in my thoughts that I barely heard the footsteps behind me. When I did, I turned around to come face to face with those Green Eyes that had haunted my dream for so many years.

"Bolton, how good to see you? It's been ages. Look's like you've been working out." Daniel said to me. I looked and saw to his right Markus, no longer the fat boy with glasses, but a muscular man who was well built. But not as well built as Daniel. He must have worked out a ton, because he looked like he could have picked up a car with one hand.

"Basketball still going for you?" The voice again took me away from my thoughts.

"Yeah. How about you? Murdering still going for you?" I responded. I was furious with him for taking Gabriella.

"You'd think you'd be a bit smarter, you're precious girlfriend in our hands. One command and she could be history." Could. He has said could, reassuring me that she was still alive. I hoped my thoughts were correct.

"Where is she? What have you done to her? Released her!" I screamed at him.

"Now, now Bolton. Why would we do such a thing? She did bring you to us, I wonder what other use she could be to us?" he said with a deadly smirk on his face.

"But Daniel, she's no good anymore. You've seen the state she's in. It's not long now, before she croaks." These words hit me like a ton of bricks. I fell to the ground, my face expressionless. She couldn't be dying; she still had so much to live for.

"Now Markus, why be so depressed. I think it would be best if Bolton told us what he thought." Daniel snapped his fingers, and I could feel two large hands life me up by my shoulders, and lead me inside the cottage. But nothing mattered to me.

Those words were still burned into my skull.

_It's Not Long Now_

**AN: What do you think? This is the longest I have ever written a chapter in this story. Was it good? I feel it's getting very intense. I wonder what state Gabi's in (well I know, but you guys don't.) Please tell me what you think.**

**Oh and could you guys also check out "Love Doesn't Come Smoothly". I want to know if I should start it sooner or not? Please tell me what you think about those. **

**I have noticed that this story is getting the most attention of all my stories, and I am really happy to hear that. I'm glad that my story impresses you. **

**Anyway, please review and tell me what you think. Comments are good and they motivate me!**

**Xoxo,**

**Vfanforlife**


	8. Seeing Is Definitely Believing

Chapter 7 – Seeing is Definitely Believing

**Chapter 7 – Seeing is Definitely Believing**

**AN: Guys, because I feel bad that I haven't updated in a long time I have decided to update the next chapter. I am writing the next chapter and hopefully will have it up soon (it should definitely be up by next week!).**

**Here's the next chapter. I'm glad that so many people are enjoying this story. I myself am becoming pretty attached to it. It seems to me that this story is one of my more creative and better-written ones. **

**Anyway, here's the anticipated next chapter. Let me warn you that it does get a bit graphic when describing Gabriella. Won't say too much. I know that most of you are aware that this story is rated 'T', so it will have mature content. Most of you though probably know that and are ok with it. I'm just warning you guys.**

**Troy's P.O.V**

I was led into the cottage by Markus, a rush of memories swarming me as I walked through the various rooms of the cottage. I finally was led to a set of stairs, which I knew led to the basement. As I walked down, I could feel nerves in my stomach. How badly was Gabriella hurt? Had I arrived in time?

"Troy, ready to see your princess? She's missed you, did you know that?" Daniel said with an evil cackle. I hated him for what he was doing to my poor Gabriella.

"You…" before I could continue the lights were switched on. I finally got a look around the room. There was blood staining the walls. It made me feel sick. But it was the next sight that made my face turn green. On the far right side, lying with her face facing me was Gabriella. Except, it didn't look like her at all. Her face was pale as a ghost, probably from all of her blood loss. She had bruises on her face, and a deep gash just above her right eye, with a line of blood streaming down that side of her face. I could see scarlet highlighting her hair, and I knew that somewhere she had a gash on her head as well, probably from when he had hit her against the pole in the web-cam. It was then that I got a look at her. Her left arm was bent in a funny position, and so I knew that it was broken, maybe worse. The white t-shirt she was wearing was stained with blood, and it was raised a bit so I could see the blackness that was her stomach. The pink sweatpants that I had bought her were pink, but I could see that her right knee was bent in a funny position. He must have broken that as well. All in all, she was in a terrible condition. The words that Markus had said were still ringing in my ears, and right now a certain saying was in my mind. Seeing was definitely believing.

**Jack's P.O.V**

So far there had been no progress in the search. Worst of all, I hadn't seen my son in four hours. Chad had told me that he went on a walk to get some air, but I was getting nervous. Walks don't take four hours. Maybe he had returned and was sitting in a spare cabin, or was talking with his friends. Just as I was about to walk out of the mess hall, which was now police headquarters, the police chief walked up to me.

"Well sir, we need to ask your permission for a photo of Miss Montez that can be shown publically."

"Sure. Why, might I ask?" I asked him. They had already been given one photo which was sent to news broadcasters all over the state and soon country to tell the public about the tragedy which was occurring.

"You see sir, we are now going to walk around and talk to the cottage owners and see if they heard anything suspicious that night." I nodded, handed him a picture of Gabriella at her Graduation, Troy's arms around her. They were both looking at the camera, but any viewer could see the love the two had for one another.

"This is the identical picture sent to broadcasters, am I right sir?" He asked me.

"Yes." I replied. "But this is the only picture that I have of her, and my son is not here right now to give you another one. Though I bet you he has thousands to choose from, and it would be hard for him to find one." The officer nodded and walked away. It was then that it dawned on me.

Local Cottages.

David's family had a cottage.

It wasn't far from here.

That is when I realized it. He had a cottage here, making it easy for him to snatch Gabriella and have somewhere to take her quickly. It was private property, so nobody entered it unless invited. It was the perfect place to hold someone hostage. Then, another worry crowded my mind.

What if Troy had already figured it out? What if he had already gone there alone, to try and persuade Daniel to let Gabriella go? It couldn't be possible. Just as these thoughts ran through my head, Chad, Taylor, Sharpay, Zeke, Ryan and Kelsi walked into the room. I quickly walked towards them.

"Have you guys seen Troy?" I asked them.

"No sir. He went for a walk four hours ago, but I thought he came back here to help some more with the investigation." Chad responded. If Chad didn't know where he was, then my prediction was becoming truer and truer.

"Did Troy mention anything to you about a cottage?" I asked.

"No Coach Bolton." Sharpay replied. "Why, do you think Troy went to a cottage?" She asked innocently.

"Not a cottage. Daniel's cottage." I responded. Each of their faces paled. It turned and ran back towards the chief. He turned towards me.

"How can I help you, Mr. Bolton?" He asked.

"Daniel Anderson, the kidnapper, his family had a cottage. I just remembered now. It was not far from here. My son…" I paused, tears welling up in my eyes. "He remembered and headed to find the cottage. I know Gabriella's there. She just has to be!" I yelled.

"I'm sorry sir, we can't send people to this cottage unless we have proof that that is where he has taken them." I sighed in defeat and turned to walk back to the gang.

"If you guys see Troy, please tell him to come to me. But I have a feeling Troy's not coming back tonight." I replied. I was worrying more and more. Daniel had Gabriella, and now he potentially had Troy. This situation was becoming worse and worse.

**Troy's P.O.V**

"_Breaking News! An 18-year-old girl has been missing for a couple of days now. She was last seen in her cabin at camp. Her boyfriend came to visit her in the middle of the night, to see she was nowhere to be found. A letter was taped to the dresser. It appears that the kidnapper has a past with the girl's boyfriend, Seen in the picture here." _On the small TV screen flashed a picture of Gabriella and me at Graduation, holding each other tight.

"Aww, is that you're graduation?" Daniel teased. "She looked a lot better then, let me tell you!" I looked down at Gabriella's body, which was in its same motionless position as it had been an hour ago. I was being help up by Markus, who was much stronger than I.

"She needs a hospital. Please, release her, and keep me." I pleaded.

"No. You see if she is treated, the police will recognize her, and they will then link it to us. We will be tracked down, and arrested. If she dies, then we can peacefully get rid of her and then nobody will have to know!" He replied. I looked at him with disgust. He turned and looked at Markus.

"Markus, we must go upstairs. I'm getting hungry. Tie Troy to the pole." He instantly walked me over to the pole and tied me up, my arms behind my back. Together they walked up the stairs and out of the room, closing the door behind them. I turned to look at Gabriella's frail body, still unmoving. It pained me to see her so weak. I shifted, and that was when I felt my cell phone resting in my pocket. It was fully charged, and I could get bars here because I was in New Mexico. I tried to undo my hands, my basketball fingers moving quickly. I then remembered what Gabriella had taught me, and began rubbing them against each other. The friction caused the string to wear, making it easy for me to break. I brought my hands to my pocket and took out my cell phone. I knew that making a call would be too loud, so I decided to send a text message to my father.

_Dad, Daniel had a cottage, remember? _

_I'm There now._

_Gabriella barely alive needs medical care urgent._

_Please come! 911!_

_Troy_

I quickly sent it, turned it on 'silence everything' and turned my phone off. I needed to save the power, incase I would need it again. After sticking the phone back in my pocket, it was then that I crawled over to Gabriella. I didn't want to risk moving her, incase she had a broken back or spine, so I instead began stroking her hair. He remained unconscious, and I was afraid that she was dead, until suddenly to my relief, she began to stir. She moaned, and she must have felt someone touching her hair because she immediately froze and began shaking.

"Calm down Gabi, calm down. It's me." I whispered to her.

"T…troy?" Her voice was weak and raspy. I knew it took a lot of her strength to say that.

"Yes Gabi, it's me. Relax." I continued stroking her hair. She shifted slightly, and I could see a pained expression on her face. "Gabi, easy. Don't move too much. I don't know how badly you're hurt." She nodded and placed her head back down on the ground.

"T…roy?" she said.

"Yes Gabi?" I asked.

"I…lo…love…you" she told me. I smiled.

"Gabriella, I love you too! More than you could never know." I answered. I could see a smile form on her pale, bruised face.

"Now isn't that just sweet?" Said a voice. Not just any voice.

The voice of a killer.

**AN: Sorry this chapter is short, but I am making room for the next one, which will hopefully be very long. This is just kind of an introduction to what will happen in the next chapter. Anyone have any predictions? I'm really curious to see what you guys think will happen!**

**Review please!**

**Xoxo, **

**Vfanforlife**


	9. Before It's Too Late!

Chapter 8 – Before It's Too Late

**Chapter 8 – Before It's Too Late!**

**AN: Well, this is it, the next chapter. Personally I got tingles when reading it. It gave me shivers. OH well. **

**Please tell me what you think of it! **

**Jack's P.O.V**

I told Lucille my concerns, which I later realized was a mistake because she was now three times more worried than she was before. The police were doing nothing, because they believed there was no concrete evidence that is specifically where Troy was, or that was where Daniel was keeping Gabriella. But I knew better. He had Gabriella, and now Troy, there. I had given them the address, and they had it ready, so if new evidence came out, they would be ready to head over there.

Other than that, the only thing that was being done was the broadcasting of the picture and information of Gabriella. People all over the country were now looking for her, trying to bring her back to her family and boyfriend. I had gotten some completely rude phone calls of girls saying that if she dies could they get Troy's number so they could hook up with him. I found it repulsive that some people only cared about themselves instead of the wellbeing of others. I then realized that this is the kind of person that we are dealing with.

A beeping brought me out of my thoughts. I realized that it was coming from my cell phone, signaling I had gotten a new text message. I was hoping it wasn't another one of those girls wanting Troy's number. When I opened up my phone, I realized it was nothing close.

_Dad, Daniel had a cottage, remember? _

_I'm There now._

_Gabriella barely alive needs medical care urgent._

_Please come! 911!_

_Callback-Boy_

I was right! Troy was at the cottage, and he had found Gabriella. It sounded like Gabriella was in a terrible condition and needed care instantly.

"Chief! I have a lead!" I yelled at the police chief. He and his policemen ran over to me. I handed them my phone, and they read over the message. By the time they had finished reading it, Lucille and the gang had run over as well, trying to find out what I had learned.

"Mr. Bolton, how can you be sure that this was your son that wrote this, and not someone else who had Troy's phone and wanted to play a prank?" He asked me. I was furious, but I knew it was procedure to not make a move unless they were certain.

"Because officer. Callback-Boy was a code that Troy and I came up with for him to use if he needed something, but didn't want anyone to know it was him that had left me the message. He did a callback with Gabriella, and that was what she had called him once. He then stuck with it, using it in cards to her. Troy must have know that you might have been hesitant, so he signed it with callback-boy, a secret only him, Gabriella and I shared." I replied. The officer nodded at me and quickly burst into action.

"I need a helicopter from Albuquerque hospital to be send out to the cottage immediately. The girl needs urgent care, from what the boy says. I want every single officer in this room to get into a car and head towards the cottage. Mr. Bolton?" He said turning to me.

"Yes?"

"We're going to need you to come with us, to confirm the cottage and to help us around. You know the cottage area, we don't." I nodded. "You'll be coming with me," he added. I again nodded. The chief turned to his officers. "Hurry up! They are in danger and we need to get there as quick as possible! We must get there before it's too late!" he yelled. Everyone was in motion, running around, gathering guns and other materials that might be needed, and heading for their cars.

**Troy's P.O.V**

I turned to see Daniel and Markus walking back down the stairs.

"So Troy, you got released quick enough. How did you do that?"

"Gabriella taught me." I replied. He laughed.

"She is intelligent, to bad that she will never be able to become something." He smirked at me. I glared back at him. He snapped his fingers, and Markus took out a gun from behind his back. He pointed it straight at me.

"Bolton, I'm going to need you to cooperate. Understand me?" He asked. I nodded my head. "Good, now stand up." He instructed. I did as I was told, in the process accidentally knocking Gabriella in the head. She groaned.

"Ou…ouch" She stuttered.

"Ah, I see princess had awoken. Too bad, I was almost positive you were dead. I guess dreams don't always come true. Shame, really?" He said. She turned to look at him and spat at his feet. What made me go pale was not that she had the nerve to make him angrier, but when she spit, blood came out instead of saliva.

"Tisk, tisk Gabriella. You wouldn't walk Troy to be shot now, would you?" He asked her. Her face paled even more, which to me seemed like it couldn't have paled anymore. "Anyway, get up!" He yelled at her, kicking her in the side. She screamed in pain.

"STOP! She can't, you've hurt her too much!" I yelled at him. I was about to run towards her when Markus pointed the gun at her.

**Jack's P.O.V**

The police cruisers were speeding down the highway. I could hear the chopper above and knew it was coming prepared for whatever it may have to face. I didn't even want to think in what condition my son was in, never the less Gabriella. The officer turned to me.

"Are we heading the right way?" He asked. I nodded. I felt like this was droning on and on. Before I was about to give up, I saw it.

"THERE! The sign and entrance is over there!" I yelled, pointing at the familiar sign signaling the entrance to the cottage. The chief's cruiser turned all the other cars following suit. As we drove through the trees, a familiar cottage was seen. When we parked, I hopped out of the car, hoping I wasn't too late!

"Bolton, not a smart move. Get any closer to her, and she's a goner. It's not like she won't be anyway, though." He said. I froze, and Markus put the gun back on me.

"Silly Bolton." He mocked. I glared at him, before turning back to face Daniel.

"Daniel, why? Why now must you come back? Why do you hate my so much? How did you find out so much about me?" I asked him.

"Whoa, slow down. One question at a time, will you? Seeing as your first question was to generic, let's go on to number two. Why did I come back now? Because your life was at it's peak. You were graduating with honors, no doubt with the help of your brainiac Latina girlfriend." I looked down to see Gabriella's eyes locking with mine.

"Uhh you guys are disgusting. Anyway, you have everything, and I have nothing. I wanted to make the playing board fairer." He said with a smile.

"You…You're…Sick!" Gabriella weakly exclaimed. Daniel kneeled down to Gabriella's level.

"Nope, I just wanted revenge." Daniel stood back up and came to face me. He walked towards me and grabbed my arms. I struggled, but he managed to tie me back up against the pole. "I know you can probably free yourself again Bolton, but by then I will be long gone." He said. He walked back towards the middle of the room, before turning and facing me again.

"To answer your second question, I hate you because you ruined my life. Hannah was mine, and you knew it, but you took her anyway. Because of you I was sent to a mental institution, my parents abandoned me and I have no money. I have a reason to hate you!" He yelled at me.

"And how do I know everything about you? Well, firstly I did what any retard would do, and googled you. It wasn't that hard, you were in every single blog that was posted on the East High Website. It was then that I learned about your little singing thing with Gabriella." He inched slowly towards Gabriella as he was talking to me, it made me feel nervous. "From then I read more and more about you, finding out thinks like you were dating Gabriella, you were excelling in school and you were the most popular guy in school. I made plans to ruin your life, and when I found out about this camp, it set my plans in motion. But do you wanna know the most interesting thing I learned Bolton?" He said, and he dug both his hands into his jean's pockets.

"What?" I said back in an attitude.

"I learned, that the most painful way to die, especially in a weakened state, is to bleed to death." As he finished saying this he withdrew from his right pocket a knife, and in one swift movement flipped Gabriella on her back and plunging the knife into her bruised stomach, sliding it around a bit, before getting up, knife still remaining in her stomach. Her scream penetrated my ears, and I could feel her agony as her stained white blouse turned scarlet red, same as the floor around her.

"GABRIELLA!" I screamed, wriggling against the pole.

"See Troy, you took away Hannah, and now you get what you deserve." I wasn't even paying attention to him; all I could see was Gabriella's eyelids slowly closing as she lost more and more blood.

"T…Troy…" She was barely heard, but I looked to see her staring me straight in the eyes.

"Gabi?" I said softly. Tears were clouding my vision.

"Troy…I…Love…You…" She said, and her eyes finally closed, plunging her into darkness.

"Gabriella! Stay with me! Don't go to sleep! GABI!" I yelled!

"It's no use Troy, she's gone. I had fun holding her hostage, but all good things must sadly come to an end. Speaking of which." He turned and faced Markus. "I think our visit must to, and sadly, your life. So sorry, but this is the last time we will see each other. Any last words?" He said.

"You'll go to Hell for what you did to Gabriella!" I screamed.

"That's alright, because I will have gotten my revenge. Ruining your life, your girlfriend's life, and your parent's life. The list goes on and on but I am satisfied." With that he snapped his fingers, commanding Markus like a dog.

"Say your prayers Bolton!" he said. Daniel turned to Markus again, snapping his fingers. "Markus! Shoot!" Markus looked at the gun, then nodded, pointing the gun at Troy.

"Sorry." He said.

A loud gunshot was heard through the room.

**AN: OMG! What will happen? Will Gabriella and Troy be okay? Will Daniel and Markus get away with what they did? Well you'll just have to find out next chapter, right? Sorry for being evil, but it had to be done! I know I get annoyed when there are cliffhanger endings, because it makes me start to not stop thinking about what will happen next. So I will be nice. The next chapter will be posted soon, ok? I just want to know first what you think.**

**Review!**

**Xoxo,**

**Vfanforlife**


	10. Worst Feeling In The World

Chapter 9 – Worst Feeling in the World

**Chapter 9 – Worst Feeling in the World**

**AN: Sorry about the cliffhanger last time, but I just had to do it. Hope you guys forgive me! (Puppy dog eyes). **

**Anyway, here is the next chapter. I'm not writing a long AN because you guys probably want the story. **

**So, here is it, the awaited chapter.**

**Jack's P.O.V**

I had just finished talking to Lucille. She had been flown over, along with the gang, to Albuquerque hospital where they would meet the chopper. Hopefully their injuries were not to severe.

I then froze as I heard a gun shot ring through my ears. One of them was dead. I prayed it wasn't Troy, but then I didn't wish that fait for Gabriella either. Tears crowded my eyes. The officers around me began to frantically move quicker, breaking down the locked door to the cottage. We ran around, searching everywhere. As I neared the basement, I felt a pit in my stomach. I didn't know what I was going to find there, bit I knew it wasn't going to be pretty.

"Mr. Bolton, let me go first. I am trained." I nodded, and chief stepped in front of me. We walked down the steps slowly, and the sight that filled my eyes brought more tears, tears that were now cascading down my cheeks.

**Troy's P.O.V**

I waited for the pain to come, but it never did. I looked and saw Daniel's body fall to the floor. Before I even had time to react, I felt arms tugging at my wrists, and tilted my head to see Markus untying my hands. I was confused. As if he read my mind, he began to explain.

"Daniel has been getting me to do his dirty work for the longest time now. He never treats me normally, so he finally got what going for him. I'll go call 911, you go to your girl." I nodded and turned towards Gabriella. There was blood everywhere, and I felt bile rising up my throat. But I held it down as I walked towards Gabriella. I knelt down beside her and placed her head on my lap.

"Come on Gabi, wake up! I need you, Gabi I can't live with out you! Gabi please! You'll be fine, just wake up and stay with me." It was no use because she was unresponsive. Tears began dripping down my face, soaking her hair and my now bloody clothing. I didn't care if I stained my outfit, Gabriella was dying and there was nothing I could do. I heard a noise, and turned my head to see two men walking down the stairs. One was wearing a police outfit, and I recognized him to be the chief and the one organizing the search for Gabriella. I looked into the blue eyes of the second man.

"Dad?" I croaked.

"Troy, my boy!" He yelled. He pushed past the officer and kneeled down beside me. "Troy, are you okay?" he asked me, before looking down at Gabriella's limp body resting against mine. Tears continued to stream down my face as I looked back up at him. Before I could respond, four men carrying two stretchers came running down the stairs towards us.

"Sir" the first man said to me. "I need you to let go of her."

"NO!" I yelled.

"Troy, if you don't she won't heal!" my dad told me. Reluctantly, I let the paramedics grab her limp body and lift it onto a stretcher. It was then that reality hit me. Gabriella was dying, because of me.

"TROY! You're bleeding!" My dad yelled at me.

I didn't respond.

"Get a stretcher, he's going into shock!" I felt myself being lifted off the ground and being placed on something, lying down.

"Son, are you okay?" I was asked.

I didn't respond.

My mind was thinking about one thing.

The beautiful girl in the stretcher beside mine fighting for her life.

**Lucille's P.O.V**

The waiting was killing me. All I had been told was to get in the helicopter and go to the hospital, because there was a chance that they would be found, and then would be rushed to the hospital. Not knowing if they had been found was killing me. Sitting beside me was Taylor, wrapped in Chad's arms. Her eyes were red, showing she must have been crying for a long time after she heard about the 911 message from Troy.

_Gabriella barely alive needs medical care urgent._

Those words have scared all of us. That had been told to us hours ago, we didn't how what condition she was in, never-the-less Troy as well.

Sitting oh the ground was Zeke, Sharpay sitting in between his legs. Zeke was stroking Sharpay's hair as she was gently dosing off on his knee. Beside them Ryan and Kelsi were talking in quiet whispers, and I knew Ryan was just trying to distract her. We were all nervous, awaiting the news of what's going on. I was then that my attention turned to the door. I saw Mrs. Montez walking in, huge bags under her eyes, her eyes themselves red and tear stained. She saw me, and rushed towards me.

"Are they here? Did you hear anything?" She was desperate, needing to know information about her daughter.

"Nothing, sorry." I looked at her sorrowful face. It made my heart break. I was almost relieved that she didn't know of the text message yet, or else she would have been an even bigger wreck.

"How could this have happened? Didn't Troy know about this boy, and that he could be a potential danger to Gabriella?" She asked me. I knew she was trying to blame this on someone because it would make her feel better. I knew that she understood that this was not Troy's fault at all.

"We were told he was sent off to jail, and from there he was sent to a mental institution. He was meant to remain there for life, under constant watch. We didn't realize he had somehow escaped, it was so secret it didn't even surface on the news. We ourselves are disappointed that we were not informed either. We should have been warned. Nobody could prepare for what was going to happen."

"Did Troy even tell Gabriella?" She asked.

"Yes, he explained everything to her. She understood what this boy is capable of." I replied. Our conversation was cut short by my phone ringing. I turned to see who was calling, and was relieved it was Jack. Then, it could be either good or bad news. I was nervous as I answered the phone.

"Hello?" I asked.

"_Lucille?_" I heard Jack's voice through the receiver.

"Where are you? Did you find them? Are they okay?" I knew Gabriella wasn't, but I was still praying that Troy had over exaggerated and she was not that bad.

"_We found them. You at the hospital?" _He asked.

"Yes, yes! Jack, are they okay?" I pleaded.

"_The chopper should be arriving in Ambulatory Care shortly. I will be there right after. See you soon._"

"Jack…" I was cut off by the tone, signaling the phone call had ended. I was furious. He had hung up on me, not telling me anything.

"Lucille, are they okay?" I heard Gina Montez ask me. I could feel the gang's eyes on me as I prepared to answer.

"He…hung up. He didn't respond, he just HUNG UP! HOW THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO JUST SIT HERE??" I yelled. I knew it wasn't Jack's fault, he probably just wanted to wait to tell us in person, being the gentlemen he always was, but it was killing me.

"We'll hear soon enough Mrs. Bolton." I looked to see Taylor looking at me. Sharpay was now awake, and Ryan and Kelsi had shifted closer to me.

She was right. Minutes later I heard the sound of a helicopter landing. Every eye in that waiting room looked to the doorway to see who was about to be brought in. The doors were swung open, and the first stretcher was wheeled in. The figure on the bed was instantly recognizable, his short brown hair in a mess.

When I saw Troy fully, my eyes opened wide, a hand coming up to my mouth. There was blood covering his clothing, mainly his shirt. His eyes were opened, but they were staring off into space. I could see there was a breathing mask on his face. I couldn't scream, the sight to terrible. I wondered if this was Troy's condition, what was Gabriella's like? I didn't want to know the answer. Unfortunately, my answer was wheeled through the doors seconds later.

We knew it was Gabriella instantly, her dark brown hair cascading over the bed. There was also a breathing mask on her face as well, but I could see beneath it many bruises and a deep gash that looked like it still had to be stitched up. There were four paramedics surrounding her, two wheeling her, two still trying to care for her. One had a gauze pad pressed firmly against the back of her head, the second tending to her stomach. That is when I noticed how severe the injury looked. Her stomach was wrapped in thick gauze, which had blood seeping through it. Her arm was in a sling, which also had some blood on it. Her knee was in a brace, so it was clear that was injured as well. Then I saw something that brought my second hand up to my mouth.

There were two burn marks on her chest.

Gabriella had flat-lined.

My thoughts were disrupted by the cries of Gina, who had now collapsed into one of the chairs. She was screaming and crying, seeing the seriousness of her only daughter's injuries.

"GABRIELLA! GABRIELLA HONEY!" She screamed as the stretcher was wheeled into the ICU. Taylor and Sharpay were crying into their boyfriend's shoulders, which were also crying as they wrapped their arms comfortingly around their girls. Ryan and Kelsi, though shedding tears of their own, were hugging and attempting to comfort Gina. My head turned to face the entrance as I saw my husband walk in.

**Jack's P.O.V**

I walked into the room to see everyone crying, and a hysterical Gina Montez. I then realized that Troy and Gabriella had been brought through already. I only had a second before I felt two arms wrap around my waist. I saw my wife holding on to me closely.

"Honey?" I asked her. Together we walked towards where the gang was sitting.

"Jack, I saw all the blood, it was terrible! Troy covered in blood, and Gabriella and all those bandages. It's horrible. Jack what happened? What's wrong with them? Why all the blood?" She asked me. It dawned on me that they thought Troy was injured as well.

"Troy's no injured." I reassured. Everyone, including Gina looked at me with puzzled faces. "He's just in shock."

"But, all the blood." Taylor asked.

"It's not his." The rest clicked in their minds.

"It was…Gabriella's?" Sharpay asked, dreading the answer.

"Yes." This brought on an even larger breakdown from Gina. I had tears in my eyes, seeing how distraught this woman was that her daughter was injured.

"What happened Jack, how did you find them?" my wife asked.

"We finally found the entrance. We drove up the drive and found the main cottage. It was silent, we were first thinking that maybe it wasn't the right place or something. After I called you Lucille, we heard a gunshot." Gina's face paled, as did many of the gang's faces. "We rushed into the cottage, trying to find them. It was then that we located the basement entrance, and walked down. I was frightened, I wanted to see who was shot, but at the same time I was nervous of the answer. When we walked down the stairs…" I was crying now, and it was hard to continue. Remembering the scene that I had seen when I walked into the room killed me.

"Jack, what did you find?" Lucille asked. She was crying, but wanted to know what happened.

"I first saw a body. I thought it was Troy, until I saw him in the corner. It was Daniel that had been shot. Apparently it was his assistant, Markus that shot him. He was fed up with how he was being treated, and Daniel pushed some buttons, which were the last straw. After that I turned to Troy…" I went silent for a second, drawing a breath. "He was holding Gabriella on his lap, hands clamped tightly around her. That's how he got all the blood on him. He seemed to be telling Gabriella to wake up." Tears were streaming down the faces of the gang. "Lucille I'm telling you, there was so much blood. It was everywhere. But it was the way I saw Troy was pleading with Gabriella that broke my heart. The look of love in his eyes, and I knew is Gabriella didn't get out of there alive he would have died himself. I'm telling you, it was the worst feeling in the world being down there." Our conversation was ended short when we heard a voice calling us.

"Relatives of Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez." Our heads turned to see the doctor.

"Yes." I heard my wife say.

"Are you all relatives?" He asked.

"We might as well be. These are their closest friends so they can be here. We…" I said, motioning to Lucille and I, "Are Troy's Parents and Gina Montez "I said directing a hand in her direction, "Is Gabriella's mother." The doctor nodded.

"Firstly, let's start off with Troy. He was in shock when he arrived. There are no injuries on him, except for some slight irritation on his wrists, probably from a string. We finally got him talking, and he's resting right now."

"When can we see him?" I asked. I needed to be there to comfort my son.

"You can see him tomorrow. Right now he needs his rest, and he also needs to be questioned by the police the second he wakes up. After that, you are free to stay with him. He can also be released tomorrow afternoon." I nodded. It was then that we heard a quiet voice that had not been heard in a while.

"What about Gabriella?" Gina asked.

**AN: I know, cliffhanger right? Sorry (runs and hides in cupboard). Oh well, anyway, please tell me what you think! Hopefully good things!**

**Review Please!**

**Xoxo,**

Vfanforlife


	11. Never Leaving Her Side

Chapter 10 – Never Leaving Her Side

**Chapter 10 – Never Leaving Her Side**

**AN: Sorry about the cliffy last time, I hope that this makes up for it! I just wanted to say that I really appreciate that you guys love this story so much. It makes me happy that you guys are enjoying the story.**

**The feeling someone gets when they are reading a Fanfiction story. The suspense that they feel. That is what makes me read Fanfiction, and that is what I hope I am doing to you. I know that I am not the best writer out there, but I am happy that there are people who really enjoy reading my story. When I receive comments, it makes me feel like such a happy person. In a way it inspires me to write because I know that my readers want to find out what's happening. **

**Thanks for everyone who has stuck by me with this story. I just wanted to tell you that this story will not be incredibly long, but I am thinking of doing a sequel to this one. I'm not sure if I will write one for 'I'll Never Leave You', but this story seems to have attracted a larger audience than my other one (at least from what I can see with the reviews). I'm just happy that so many people love this story, and all my others.**

**Anyway, to anyone that read my long banter, I applaud thee and give you a cyber cookie. **

**And for those who didn't, here's the next chapter!**

"_What about Gabriella?" Gina asked._

I turned to face the Gina. Her face was distraught, and she was hoping that her daughter had not suffered to bad. I turned back to the doctor, to see a grim look on his face.

"Gabriella's situation was extremely serious when we got here, the largest and most urgent injuries being the stab to her stomach and her internal bleeding. Gabriella was rushed into surgery, and those have been taken care of. Her arm is broken, as well as her kneecap. Her knee was also fixed a bit during her surgery. Unfortunately she will have to use crutches for a long time because of the damage. She also had many bruises adorning her body, particularly her stomach and face. The gash on the side of her face was also stitched up. The injury we are most concerned with is the one to the back of her head. She appears to have hit her head really hard. This blow has sent her body into a coma, shutting it down in order to fix it. Though many scans have been done, we cannot see any long-term damage to her brain." Everyone's eyes in the room were welled up with tears.

"Will…will she be okay?" Chad asked nervously.

"In any other circumstance, these injuries separately could have been treated easily and so she would have made a full recovery. However, having all of these injuries at one have but her body into shock. The problem we are facing right now is that her body may not get out of this, because of all her other injuries. We are also worried about the internal bleeding. Though we believe we have fixed it through surgery, there could still be some long-term consequences of the internal bleeding."

"What are you saying?" I questioned. The entire gang eyed the doctor as they awaited his response.

"Honestly, sir. I'm not sure Gabriella will make it through the night."

--

**Troy's P.O.V**

I woke up to find myself staring into white walls. Where was I? It was then that I remembered the previous events. The nurse talking to me, then the policeman talking to me. I remembered asking about Gabriella, but not getting any answers. I sat up in my bed. I had to find out how Gabriella was! I tried getting out of my bed, but then all these monitors' around me began beeping like crazy.

"What the…?" I asked myself. My answers would soon be answered when I saw two nurses and a doctor run into the room. They began checking all of the machines around me, and one of the nurses forced me back into my bed.

"Troy, why did you try to get out?" She asked me.

"Gabriella…" I responded. She knew whom I was talking about. I looked around the room. The two nurses left the room, and so it was just the doctor and I.

"Troy, I understand you want to get out of here?" I was asked. I nodded my head.

"How's Gab…" Before I could finish asking my question, the doctor continued talking to me.

"I can go release you right now. You can go and meet your family and friend who are in the waiting room. They can answer all of your questions." I nodded again. I was going to get out of here, and was going to go straight to Gabriella.

--

**Jack's P.O.V**

Waiting in the room was doing nothing. We were not allowed to see Troy or Gabriella yet, and the waiting was killing every single person in the waiting room. Particularly, Gina Montez. She was the most frightened, especially after the doctor's news that Gabriella may not make it. She went quiet, sitting in the corner of the room, staring into space. I couldn't take the silence anymore. Grabbing the remote of the table, I turned on the TV that was over our heads. Turning up the volume, I realized that the news was playing. Everyone's eyes were turned towards the TV.

"_Earlier today, Gabriella Montez and Troy Bolton, who had gone missing, were found. Gabriella had been kidnapped from her camp earlier in the week, and Troy, her boyfriend, was so fed up that he went out and searched for her himself. It turns out that the kidnapper had a past with Troy, yet it is unknown yet what that is. All that is known is that he was named Daniel Anderson, and that he was pronounced dead at the scene of the crime. His alleged killer was his assistant in the crime, who became fed up with his horrible treatment…" _

I turned off the TV. We were all staring at the blank TV screen.

"He's dead?" Sharpay asked.

"Yeah…" Chad responded.

"It's what he deserved!" Taylor yelled, before bursting back into tears. I was rubbing Lucille's back softly. I glanced at Gina Montez, who seemed to still be in her own world. Before I had a chance to walk up to her, the doors to the rooms were opened, and in walked my son. Everyone, except Gina, ran up to him, hugging him and asking if he was okay. When everyone was finished, the only one that had her arms around my son was Lucille.

"Dad?" He asked me.

"Yeah son." I looked straight into his eyes.

"How's Gabriella?" My heart broke. How was I going to tell my son that the love of his life might not live? He saw the expression on my face, and his face immediately saddened. He knew what was going on. He turned and looked to see Gina still sitting in the corner. He got out of Lucille's arms, and walked towards her.

"Mrs. Montez?" He asked softly.

**Troy's P.O.V**

When I saw Mrs. Montez sitting there, and in combination my dad's face, I knew that Gabriella was in a critical condition. Before finding out how bad, I walked towards Mrs. Montez. She looked like she needed someone.

"Mrs. Montez?" I asked. Her face turned, showing me the tear-streaked face. I crouched down beside her, rubbing her back soothingly.

"She'll be okay, Mrs. Montez." I said softly to her. "She'll pull through, I just know she will!" I made it seem like I was confident, when really I wasn't. I had to put a fake face on for Mrs. Montez otherwise she would crack. She looked up at me gently, with a soft smile gracing her face. She stood up, taking me with her.

"Troy?" She asked.

"Yeah?"

"You really believe that?" I smiled. I do. I was starting to believe it. Gabriella was going to be okay, because she had to be okay. Without her I couldn't live, and there was no force in the universe that could be so cruel as to take away the only thing that I was living for.

"Yeah, Mrs. Montez. I do." She smiled at me.

"You're a good person, Troy. My Gabi is lucky to have a man like you!"

--

We had been sitting around the waiting room for hours, waiting for more news on Gabi. Doctors were walking around the room, but none had even come and told us something more. My parents had informed me of Gabi's situation. My heart broke hearing all of the severe injuries that her body had received. I could not believe that my girlfriend was in a coma. That when I did get the change to see her, I would not be able to see her warm brown eyes, or hear her angelic voice speak.

The rest of the gang all went home to rest and I promised them that I would call them the second something changed. Mrs. Montez also went home to rest, having gotten no sleep since Gabriella went missing. Only my parents and me were waiting in the room. All was quiet until we heard the door to the waiting room open. Our heads turned to see the doctor walking up towards us.

"We have a broader diagnosis of Gabriella's situation." He told us.

"What is it?" I heard my dad say. I was just focusing on the doctor intently, hoping the news he had for us was positive.

"Well, after more research, we have discovered that she will need physiotherapy for her knee. Also, her internal bleeding had stopped. The main concern of ours is the blow to the head she had. It doesn't look like she will be awaking from her coma any time soon. We are also concerned that her internal bleeding may have caused some of her inner organs to not function properly. That would make it difficult to even attempt to bring her body out of the coma." Tears were covering my eyes right now.

"Wh…when can we see her?" I asked.

"One person may go visit her at a time. She's in the Intensive Care Unit, room 33." He left us.

"Troy, you should go first. Talk to her." I looked at my father's reassuring look, and nodded. I stood up and walked towards where the doctor indicated her room was. As I approached her door, I reached for the handle, and paused.

I had no idea what awaited me when I opened the door. But one thing was certain.

I was never leaving her side.

**AN: Hey, sorry it's so short, but I promise the next one will be longer. Also sorry I haven't updated in a long time. Long story short, I was at a cottage, where there were no plugs and no Internet, so I couldn't post and chapters or even write them because my laptop had no battery.**

**I hope you guys like this chapter. I know it's a cliffhanger again, but that's what keeps your attention. OMG almost 60 review. I would love it if we made it to 100. What do you guys say, can we try? It would make me so happy. I know I got around 20 reviews for the last chapter (maybe more, maybe less) and so I would love to reach 100 at least by next chapter, but to have it by this chapter would be AMAZING! I just love to hear what you guys say.**

**Please review and stay tuned for the first chapter of "Love Doesn't Come Smoothly", coming really soon!**

**Xoxo,**

**Vfanforlife**


	12. Hero

**Chapter 11 – Hero**

**Hey guys… as I have said in my other notices I have been really busy with school. Especially because I am taking two AP courses, which are loading on more homework that other courses. And seeing as I go to a very homework heavy school, it is really hard to find enough time to write an entire chapter in one sitting. I usually have to find 10 minutes in between assignments or while waiting for dinner to write little bits. I appreciate that all of you are patient with me.**

**On the other hand, the Toronto International Film Festival took place. And, ever though I unfortunately didn't get to see Zac Efron himself, I did manage to get tickets to one of the showings of 'Me and Orson Welles'. I went with my mom, and we both had the same opinion. It was amazing, and this was by far the best acting he has done yet. I was honored that I got to see it, and I really hope it comes to theaters so that people all over the world can see it. **

**Anyway, here is the anticipated chapter of the story. Thanks to everyone for sticking by me. I'll really try to update my other stories really soon.**

--

**Troy's P.O.V**

My hand holding a firm grip on the door handle, I braced myself for what I was about to see. Lying behind the unusually white door was the love of my life… lying in a condition that I hoped I never had to see her in. I knew it would be hard to even stay in that room with her, but I had to.

For Gabriella.

I had to believe that Gabriella would make it out of this. That I would see those brunette eyes again, her smile that lights up my world, and the small mannerisms that I knew I couldn't live without. I knew that I would make it through, and Gabriella would as well.

Fully understanding what I had to do, my hand slowly began turning the door handle. Pushing the door forward, I walked into the room. The sight that caught my eyes made my breath hitch.

It was far worse than I had imagined.

There, lying underneath the crisp white sheets was Gabriella. A small pink blanket was resting lightly on top of her, and the steady beat of the heart monitor filled the room.

But that was not what had broken my heart. It was the physical appearance of Gabriella herself.

Surrounding her body were wires, attached to almost every inch of her body. These wires were then attached to the many machines that were helping keep her alive. Her tanned face pale white… a complete opposite to what it was normally. The gash on her forehead had been stitched up and bandaged, but bruises still adorned her face, making now a white and purple blend. Bruised were on her arms, as well as IV wires extending from them. There was a white cast and sling on her right arm, and her knee was elevated off the ground on a pillow. Where her stomach was, there was a large lump that you could tell was a thick bandage.

And, as if to make her look even deader, a breathing mask had been placed over her still face. Looking at her was like staring right at the face of death, but instead of turning and running out of the room while he had a chance, Troy instead walked towards the girl. He came onto her left side and sat down on the chair that had been provided.

Grabbing her delicate hand in his, he began gentle stroking it, and talking to her.

"Hey Brie. It's Troy. I'm not sure if you can hear what I am saying to you, but I am hoping you can. Brie, I honestly can't believe that this happened to you. It's my entire fault. If I hadn't upset Daniel all of those years ago, then this would not have happened to you. You would be fine, not lying here in the hospital with wires and bandaged covering you." I sat in silence with her for a couple of minutes, just looking her over. Tears slowly began streaming down my cheeks.

"I really hope that you open those beautiful eyes of yours soon. I can't wait to see that smile of yours, and hear that angelic voice of yours. You have no idea how much it kills me that you are lying here while I'm sitting out here. It's not fair. You never deserved this…" Tears were not falling faster. My eyes were beginning to blur from the liquid that was stinging my eyes.

"Gabriella, I love you so much. I don't know what I would do without you. Before you came to East High, I was a popular jock who was too obsessed with having his ego stroked and being pampered. You could say I was naïve when it came to true relationships. Sure I had some flings, but I never really had anything that was serious." I paused for a moment.

"When I first met you at the ski club, my world was turned upside down. I never knew that such feelings even existed. Sure I'd read about it in class, or I had seen friends who claimed to be 'in love', but I didn't think that it would ever happen to me. When I first looked into those eyes, first saw that beautiful smile of yours and first heard your voice, I was hooked. I knew that I had to see you again. You don't know how much of a bother I was to my parents, moping around and thinking about never being able to have a chance to see you again. Then, fait was on my side, and you were transferred to East High. Gabriella, I was overjoyed when I first saw you in that classroom. My heart skipped a beat; something it had never done before. I would have even been content at just looking at you once more."

"When we finished the callbacks, it was then that I realized something important. Something that would influence the rest of my life…"

"Gabriella Montez, I am completely head-over-heels in love with you. I always have been and I always will be. So now, I need you to get better and wake up, because I don't know if I will be able to survive without you. You are like breathing to me, without you I'm dead." Finishing my speech, I continued to stroke her hand and sit by her side.

I vowed, that I would not leave it until she was out of the hospital, and healthy again.

--

A couple of days passed by, and it seemed that Gabriella was not getting any better. The doctors said that they were tracking a small problem with her kidney, suspecting the internal bleeding as the reason, but they said it was not serious enough to do anything about it yet. The said they were worried that her kidney would start to fail, but I was hopeful that it wouldn't come to that.

I hadn't left Gabriella's side in a week, my parents bringing meals to me. I showered in the small shower in Gabriella's hospital room bathroom, and slept on either the chair beside her bed, or the small reclining chair that was at the end of the room. Thankfully there was no school to be missed, and my parents were very supportive and understanding that this was something that I needed to do.

The rest of the gang visited occasionally, and thankfully the doctor allowed now two visitors in the room. Most of the time it was Mrs. Montez and I, but sometimes she would leave to rest or eat, at which point the gang was let in. As I said, I hadn't left Gabriella's side.

Currently, I was sitting in her room, my mother sitting in the recliner behind me. She had insisted that Mrs. Montez go home and get some sleep, because she had already been here for almost 18 hours without rest. I was still holding onto Gabriella's hand with one of mine, the other one slowly stroking Gabriella's head, careful of the bandage covering the stitches in her head. I had gotten my mother to buy her three-dozen pink roses (her favorite), two-dozen placed in two vases on the windowsill, and one dozen placed on her night table. I had also placed some pictures in the room to make it homier, including one of the two of us at prom.

The bruises on her face slowly started to heal, but her arm and knee were still in casts, where they would remain for at least 4 months. Sitting deep in thought, it was my mother's voice that brought me out.

"Troy, honey, do you want me to get you anything?" I didn't look up from my angel's face.

"No thanks mom. I'm okay."

"You sure?" She insisted.

"Yup." Silence surrounded us. I enjoyed sitting in silence with Gabriella, and every once making little gestures to her letting her know I was still there. Either rubbing her hand, stroking her head (which I did anyway), or planting light kisses to her forehead, check and palm.

"You know Troy, you're being really brave." At this, I turned my head up towards my mother.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I never would have been able to be able to do what you are doing. Seeing the person you love the most in such a vulnerable state, it would kill me. But you, you have not left her side since this happened. You are being so strong Troy, I'm really proud. Not anybody would be able to do this." She commented. Her words brought tears to my eyes.

"I just can't loose her mom. She means so much to me. If I sit here at least I feel like I am doing something for her. I'm waiting for her to wake up. And I'm positive that she will make it through. Even if it takes another couple of days, weeks or even months, I will be here every day until she opens those beautiful eyes of hers again. I can't just leave her, it's not right." My mom smiled at me. I turned back and looked at my sleeping beauty.

Gabriella is so lucky to have you. Troy, I honestly don't know what I would do if I had to go through the same thing. I think I would end up cracking. You Troy are a hero. Gabriella is so blessed that you are in her life."

Hero. I never considered myself a Hero. Wasn't a hero someone who was powerful, who saved endangered damsels in fairy tales. What was the true definition of a hero? Someone who saves people, or someone who is strong? Either way, it doesn't matter. If my mom said I was Gabriella's hero, then I was. That was when it reminded me of a song that Gabriella loved. I softly began to sing to her.

_Would you dance, if I asked you to dance?_

_Would you run, and never look back?_

_Would you cry, if you saw me crying?_

_Would you save my soul tonight?_

I looked at my mother, and she was smiling through her tears. She motioned to me to continue, understanding exactly what this song meant to Gabriella and me.

_Would you tremble, if I touched your lips?_

_Would you laugh, oh please tell me this_

_Now would you die, for the one you love?_

_Hole me in your arms tonight?_

_I can be your hero baby_

_I can kiss away the pain_

_I will stand by you forever_

_You can take, my breath away_

_Would you swear, that you'll always be mine?_

_Would you lie, would you run away?_

_A mind to be, have you lost your mind?_

_I don't care; you're here, tonight_

I began stroking Gabriella's head again, and planted a gentle kiss to her forehead. Tears began to form in my eyes as I sang the heartfelt lyrics to Gabriella.

_I can be your hero baby_

_I can kiss away the pain_

_I will stand by you forever_

_You can take, my breath away_

_Oh, I just wanna hold you_

_I just wanna hold you_

_Learn to be_

_Have I lost my mind?_

_Well I don't care; you're here, tonight_

_I can be your hero baby_

_I can kiss away the pain_

_I will stand by you forever_

_You can take, my breath away_

_I can be your hero_

_I can kiss away the pain_

_And I will stand by you, forever_

_You can take my breath away_

_You can take my breath away_

_I can be, your hero._

As I finished the song, I knew that she was getting better. I leaned and gave Gabriella a quick kiss on the lips, some of my tears managing to fall onto her face. I sat down of the bed beside her, wrapping my arms around her and holding her close to my body. Close to my heart.

Where I knew she would remain, for the rest of our lives.

**AN: I decided to be nice and not make this ending a cliffhanger (I know I have been doing that a lot). Anyways, just because I did that, I really would appreciate if you reviewed and told me what you thought of this chapter. The song i used is called 'Hero' by Enrique Iglasias (i don't think i spelt it right)**

**I promise I will try to update again real soon, it's just hard to find time.**

**Please remember to Review if you want to find out what happens next.**

**Xoxo,**

**Vfanforlife**


	13. Miracles Happen When You Least Expect

Chapter 12 – Miracles Come When you Least Expect

**Chapter 12 – Miracles Come When you Least Expect **

**AN: Sorry it took so long. I am posting this in honor of High School Musical 3's release two days ago. It was fantastic, really, the best one of all of them. I cried at the end, and let's just say that i can't wait to see it again this weekend when i got with my other friends to see it. I hope to see it at least four times in theaters before it comes out on DVD, because i don't think i can stand waiting until February for the DVD to come out without having the movie partially memorized. **

**Please guys, check out the Epilogue of "I'll Never Leave You". Or, if you haven't, read the story. It is the first one that i have ever written, and it would mean the word to me if you guys told me what you think of the ending. **

**Again, sorry it's taking so long. Now that I have finished "I'll Never Leave You", I will try to focus on this story more and more. But, I know that it may take a long time. Sorry for the wait that you had since the last chapter, but I really just wanted to finish up "I'll Never Leave You." I promise I will work really hard to get the rest of the chapters out sooner. I was thinking of ending this story at around Chapters 17-20, making it longer then "I'll Never Leave You." Once this story is completed, i will go back to working on "Love Doesn't Come Smoothly" and a new story that i will be posting the trailer for soon!**

**Here's the next chapter.**

--

**Troy's P.O.V**

Many people say that high school was the hardest thing in their lives. Some say that it was when they lost their father, some when their first true love broke up with them. Some even go to dramatics and say that their first 'B-' was the hardest thing in their lives to go through.

I think I can top that.

I think that the hardest thing that the hardest thing I have ever been through is what I am going through right now.

No, I haven't lost anybody, but I am close. And no, my girlfriend hasn't broken up with me, but I still could end up loosing her forever. And that feeling, is what is making it hard for me to get by each and every day.

It has been 2 months since the accident, and Gabriella still was not awake. Her kidney was slowly starting to fail, and I have a decision to make. The hardest decision I have had to make in my entire life.

Not what University I want to go to... that's decided. Not what kind of a car I am going to save up for. Even more difficult.

I have the decision of life or death. Either risk keeping her on the machines longer and hope that she wakes up, or stop all her medication and let her slip away painlessly. I had no idea what I wanted to do, but I really could not live without her.

Sitting in her room, holding her hand and stroking her hair, was where I did my thinking. Looking at her condition was what made it harder. Her bruises had completely healed, and fortunately her arm was now out of its cast and was in just a sling. Gabriella would need therapy for her knee when she got out, if she got out. I have not really left the hospital in the last two months; showers being taken in Gabriella's hospital room bathroom; my parents bringing me whatever food I needed. They understood that this was something that needed to be done.

"Oh Gabs, what am I going to do?" I asked her as we sat in her room. Her pale was, as usual, unresponsive. "I can't live without you, and I don't want you to suffer. I need your help."

Again, no response. The sad thing about that.

I have already gotten used to that.

"Knock, knock." I turned towards the door to see my dad standing there.

"Hey dad." I said, glancing at him before turning back towards Gabriella.

"Hey. I brought you some food." He came and placed a tray of cafeteria food on Gabriella's bedside table.

"Thanks." I continued to hold her hand.

"Son, are you okay?" My dad asked me. I turned towards him.

"No. But what can I do. Until I get any response from Gabriella, I can not do anything." I sighed.

"It'll happen. Gabriella will come to." I looked up at him.

"I hope so. There's only so long I can take in here before I go crazy myself." My dad smiled at me.

"You're so strong Troy. Just keep believing she'll be fine, and she will be." I nodded.

Suddenly, I felt something that I never thought I would. A slight squeeze on my hand. I turned back to Gabriella.

"DAD!" I screamed. He rushed over to my side.

"What?"

"She squeezed my hand. Dad! She squeezed it!" A smile spread over my face. "Come on Bella, squeeze it again. I waited, and waited.

And, sure enough, I felt another weak squeeze on my hand. I smiled up at my dad.

"She's getting better!"

"I know son. I told you."

I looked back at Gabriella, when the machines around her started beeping like crazy. I looked up at my dad nervously.

"Dad…" He shook his head.

"I have no clue!" The doctors rushed into the room, surrounding her.

"Sirs, you have to get out." One of them told us.

"NO! I have to stay here with her!" I yelled. My dad finally grabbed me around the waist and carried me out of the room, me pleading the entire time.

--

I was pacing back and forth in the waiting room, no news yet on what was happening. One minute, she was getting better, letting me know she could hear me, and the next, chaos happened. My parents were sitting down, and Mrs. Montez was on her way. Soon enough, the doctor came out.

"Gabriella Montez?" Immediately my family rushed around the doctor.

"How is she?" I questioned.

"Well, before I answer that, I just want to ask you a couple of questions." I sighed. This could not be good.

"Ok." My father answered for me.

"Very well. Firstly, did anything strange happen while you were in there, right before her machines went off?" I looked up from my hands.

"S…she…"

"She what?" he asked.

"She…s…squeezed my h…hand…" I stuttered. I was nervous that something bad was happening.

"Ah." He replied, before looking at his clipboard.

"Ah? What do you mean AH!" I yelled. He was just leaving us hanging. My dad wrapped his arms around me.

"I think what my son means is, what's up with Gabriella?" My mom asked gently.

"Well, you see, the machines were telling us something that we didn't think was possible." He went quiet for a minute, but when nobody answered, he continued.

"Well, her kidney has stopped failing. Apparently the medicine we were giving her help and she is now getting better. We do not need to give her surgery like we were predicting." I smiled. Her kidney was getting better.

"Now what?" I asked.

"Well, I have good news and bad news for you." My smile faded. Bad news was never good.

"Bad news?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, when we looked at her knee, something was wrong and it seems like she's going to need surgery again to fix it and make it better. This surgery could be costly."

"Consider it paid for already." My dad interrupted. I turned and smiled up at him.

"What's the good news?" My mother asked.

"Well, she's waiting to see you right now." I looked up at him.

"You…you mean?" He nodded.

"The machines were telling us something else, and what you just told me confirmed it. By talking to her, you strengthened her, and she finally had enough will to wake up." A huge smile spread on my face.

"She's awake…" I looked up at my parents. My dad was smiling, and my mom wrapped my arms around me.

"Can I…?" I asked. Again, the doctor nodded.

"She's in the same room. Go ahead." He walked off. I turned towards my parents.

"I can't believe it!" I hugged them both tightly.

"Go ahead son, go see her. I know she wants to see you just as much as you want to see her." I smiled, and ran towards her room.

--

**Gabriella's P.O.V**

I was sitting in my hospital bed. The doctors had already informed me of what was going on. I never though I would leave the darkness that surrounded me, but finally Troy helped me. Hearing his voice made me stronger, and I finally managed to open my eyes.

Right now, I'm incredibly tired, but what I want more is to see him. I was told I've been out for around 2 and a half months. Troy must have been hurting so much, and I needed to see him and tell him that I was going to be okay.

A click from the door brought me away from my thoughts, and I finally saw him. He was standing there, his hair sticking up all over the place, and his clothing wrinkled. But that's not what caught my attention. His eyes. They were relieved, loving and nervous all at the same time. Together we started at each other for a couple of minutes, before he finally ran over towards me, wrapping his arms around me.

"Oh Bella, oh I can't believe it! You're okay!" He said, kissing my forehead. I lifted up my weak hand and placed it on his cheek.

"I'm okay." He looked me straight in the eyes, and finally gave me a kiss on the lips. I melted into his body.

Soon after our reunion, we sat, talking. Troy had climbed into the bed with me and was lying down behind me. I leaned into his chest. He kissed my forehead.

"Gabs, I don't know what I would do without you. I'm just so glad that this whole ordeal is over." Memories flooded into my mind when he said that. I began shaking. Troy must have noticed this.

"Gabs? Bella calm down." He gathered me in tighter in his arms and began soothingly rocking me back and forth. 10 minutes later, I managed to calm down.

"Sorry…" I said quietly, my voice hoarse. Evidently staying in a coma was not good on the body.

"It's fine. Bella, tell me what happened." I sighed.

"D…Daniel…" I shifted in the bed, careful of the wires, so that Troy and I were now facing one another, with my body still resting against the pillows. I had lost a lot of my energy and muscle, and I was going to have to get that back.

"Bella, he's gone. You don't have to worry." I looked at him confused.

"Gone? As in… jail?"

"No." Troy raised his hand and began stroking my cheek.

"Bella. Daniel's dead."

--

**AN: Well, I bet a lot of you are really relieved that Gabriella finally woke up. I know there are some people that carry on 'coma' storylines for a long time, and I seriously applaud them for being able to do that, but I couldn't stand not having Gabriella in the picture. I think it was the lack of Troyella moments that finally was making me go crazy!**

**Anyway, what do you guys think? How will Gabriella react to the news?**

**I just wanted to tell you all, I am going to be focusing more and more on this story then "Love Doesn't Come Smoothly", until I finish it. Then I will spend most of my time on "Love Doesn't Come Smoothly" and a new story that I am thinking of starting. I just feel like this story has taken a long time to be written, and you deserve to finally see the end.**

**So, please review, and I will try to get the next chapter out to you guys as soon as possible.**

**Xoxo,**

**Vfanforlife**


	14. Strength

**Chapter 13 – Strength**

**AN: Here's the next chapter. As I said, I am working on getting this story completed as soon as possible, and then I will get ready my newest story. I think that when this story is finally finished I will post the first chapter of the new story. I think you guys will like the plot line, even though I still haven't thought out all of the details. **

**Anyway, thank you guys so much for your patience, and I really hope to talk to you guys soon.**

**PS… I have definitely seen HSM3 (went opening night!) and it is AMAZING! It was just so cool. Zac… hot. Vanessa was really good. Zac…hot and did I mention that ZAC WAS HOT!! Oh man… I sweat I couldn't take my eyes off him. **

**You guys should all go see it. Support Vanessa and Zac as much as you can. Buy the soundtrack; see the movie; etc…**

**And, here's the next chapter…**

--------

**Troy's P.O.V**

"_Bella, Daniel's Dead." _Instantly, Gabriella's face paled. I didn't know what was wrong with her, so I pulled her close to my body.

"He's…he's really d…dead?" She mumbled against my shirt.

"Yeah. He is." She pulled away and looked me straight in the eyes.

"How?" I sighed, and explained to her exactly what happened. Her face was one of processing, transferring all the information I was giving her and trying to understand what she thought about it. I knew Gabriella, and this was just something that she did. When I finished, she sat quietly for a couple of minutes, before weakly raising her hand and lacing it in mine.

"Troy… am I horrible?"

"Bella how could you ask that question?" She sighed.

"I… I feel happy that he died. Am I that cruel of a person."

"Gabriella, you are not cruel at all. You are caring, loving, have a heart of gold and the kindest person I have ever met. What Daniel did to you was wrong, and I think it would be worse if you felt sorry for him. Gabriella, you are not a horrible person, because if that was true, then the feeling I had when he died must have made me Satin himself." She laughed a bit at my analogy.

"Ok." I smiled.

---------

**Jack's P.O.V**

A couple of hours after Troy raced into Gabriella's room, the doctor finally said that Gabriella could have more than one visitor, and we were welcome in. Gabriella's mom had been called about Gabriella's condition, and she told us she would be there shortly, but had a little business to take care of. Lucille and I assured her that Gabriella was in great hands until then.

Another plus side, Gabriella's knee surgery was going to be today. They had scheduled the first available time to have it done. This meant that, if her physiotherapy went smoothly, Gabriella would be out of the hospital in two to three weeks. After that, things would finally be able to get back to normal.

Lucille and I were walking to the room, nervous at what we'd find. After seeing Gabriella in such a fragile state, we weren't sure to expect a totally healthy looking Gabriella or a sick, pale looking one. Because of that, we were cautious not to get our hopes up too much.

However, all our worries disappeared once the door finally opened. Gabriella was lying on her bed, the pillows behind her propping her up. Troy was sitting in the seat beside her, holding a bowl of chicken soup. He was feeding Gabriella. Either, she really was in a bad state and couldn't feed herself, or, the giggling told us that Troy was just being his usual overprotective self.

"What's going on in here?" I asked playfully. Troy turned around to face us, and Gabriella just shifted over.

"Hey dad!" Troy said, at the same time as Gabriella greeted us as "Hey Coach, hey Mrs. Bolton." Gabriella weakly waved to us, and I could see that Gabriella was not as strong as we had hoped.

"What are you guys doing?" Gabriella smiled.

"Troy, being the gentleman that he is, had decided that I am too weak to even eat, so he insists on feeding me. Too bad he has horrible coordination skills and is managing to get it everywhere." She giggled. Troy turned and looked at her with a fake pout, and then turned back towards us.

"Not true. Miss Montez here thinks it would be funny to try and knock the soup out of my hands." I smiled. This was the playful banter that I was always used to seeing whenever Gabriella came over, or in the hallways at school.

"Well, don't make a mess. The nurses have to clean it you know."

"Did you hear that? Nurse Troy?" Gabriella added. I smiled, turning to face Lucille. It was this kind of stuff that showed us that Troy really did care about Gabriella, probably more than he even knew.

"Gabriella, your surgery is in three hours, okay?" Lucille told her. At first, Gabriella looked frightened, but once Troy grabbed her hand and began stroking it with his thumb, she nodded.

"Don't worry. We'll be right here when you wake up." Troy reassured her. Just then a nurse walked into the room.

"What do we have here? A party?" She joked.

"What can I say? I am that popular." Gabriella added. We all laughed. The atmosphere in the room was cheerful and soothing, as if things were starting to get back to normal.

"That you are, missy." The nurse teased. "Anyway, it seems that I have to check all your stats and give you your medication Gabriella, and then you have to get ready for your surgery." She sighed, and nodded. Troy leaned forwards and kissed her gently on the forehead.

"Don't worry Bella. I'll be right here when you wake up after the surgery." She smiled.

"I know." The scene in front of me just brought happiness into my body. The way that the two cared about each other so much really taught people that there was such a thing as true love, and that it could conquer anything.

-------

**Troy's P.O.V**

Gabriella's surgery lasted two hours, but finally the doctor came in the room saying it was a complete success. He also said that Gabriella would we waking up soon, and that we could see her. Immediately I went to the room, and sat with her until she finally woke up. When she did, we finally continued our playful banter.

Chad, Taylor, Sharpay, Zeke, Ryan, Jason and Kelsi all came by to see Gabriella. She was thrilled to finally see them all, and I left her with the girls for a couple of hours so that I could catch up with the boys. We were sitting in the small 'lounge' outside Gabriella's ward.

"So dude, how does it feel? I mean Gabriella's awake!" Chad said.

"I know. It's insane. I never thought I would be sitting here and know that Gabriella was fine and talking away in the other room. The last two months were just killer." I responded. They nodded.

"Hey, don't worry. Once Gabriella finishes with her rehab we will get her out of here, and she will get a huge party thrown for her." We sat in silence, before Zeke decided to break it.

"What's gonna happen with University?" I sighed, remembering the conversation I had with Gabriella earlier on.

_Flashback_

_We were sitting and talking, when Gabriella finally turned serious._

"_Troy, what's gonna happen with University?" She asked. I sighed. It was true that University was starting in two weeks, and Gabriella would most likely not be out of the hospital by then. Also, she still had to remain in her house for a couple of months before she was finally allowed to go back to school._

"_Well, I guess we're gonna have to take online classes." She looked at me confused._

"_We're?"_

"_Yeah. You and me. We will take them together until you can finally go back to University, and then we will go back together. And you don't have to worry about not getting a dorm, because we will be staying in an apartment two blocks away." _

"_You're not going to University right away?"_

"_No. I told you we were going together, and that's what's gonna happen." She smiled._

"_What did I ever do to deserve you?"_

"_I ask myself that question every single day." She laughed. Then, with a smile still plastered on her face, she asked…_

"_Apartment, eh? Do your parents know about this?" _

"_Yup. They are the ones who are going to be paying for it until we can afford it on our own. It's all taken care of, don't worry." I reassured her._

"_Thanks Troy."_

"_You're welcome Bella. You're welcome."_

_End of Flashback_

I explained to the guys what Gabriella and I had come up with, and they smiled.

"Good job mate. You have it all figured out." Jason said. I laughed.

"Yup. And best of all, the rents agree. It's a dream come true!"

"Wow Troy. You are so dedicated to Gabriella. I don't think anyone would do anything close to what you did for her." It was true. But I couldn't help it; I couldn't see any harm coming to Gabriella, especially with what happened with Daniel. Never again would she be left out of my sight for too long. Gabriella was now my life.

And nothing was going to take her away.

------

**AN: No cliffy this week, eh? (Wow. I sounded really Canadian right there.) I decided to be nice and leave you with a fluffy ending. Actually, most of the endings from now on are going to be fluffy. Probably because I really don't want to add any more drama into the story. It's okay, unless you want more drama. I don't have a story line like that, but I could always edit.**

**What do you guys think?**

**Anyway, thank you so much for putting up with me and sticking by me. I will try to update "Love Doesn't Come Smoothly" as soon as possible; I am just really focusing on finishing up this story. I promise you guys thought, that I will try not to be one of those authors who waits 4-5 months before they update, because that can get really annoying (though I know I have been close to that sometimes, and I'm sorry).**

**Please, review and tell me what you think.**

**Xoxo,**

**Vfanforlife**


	15. Walking Again

**Chapter 14 – Walking Again**

**AN: Well, now that HSM3 has come and gone (and it was an AMAZING movie, let me tell you) I now have a new movie to look forward to… Twilight! I can't wait; it's going to be amazing! **

**Here's the next chapter. I was thinking that this story will be ending at either chapter 18 or chapter 20. I just have to see exactly where the storyline is going. Anyway, here's the next chapter of "Summer Camp Nightmare". Also, sorry to all the people who are really looking forward to "Love Doesn't Come Smoothly" I just want to finish "Summer Camp Nightmare" first, and then I will focus on not only that story but also a new one that I am thinking of writing.**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter. Hope you guys like it!**

-------

**Troy's P.O.V**

"Come on Brie, you can do it. Just one more step." I reassured her.

"Troy, I can't." Her voice was full of frustration.

"Brie, what happened to your 'never give up' rule?" I said teasingly. Hopefully her mood would get better.

"Umm…" I knew that I had her there. "Uh. I hate you."

"No you don't…"

"Yup. I honestly do." She said smugly.

"Honestly?" I questioned.

"Scouts Honor."

"Man, that's too bad. I had a gift for you, but if you hate me then…" her face lit up, and I could tell she was thinking up an idea. Then, she must have gotten one, because she smiled.

"If you gave me a present, then I wouldn't hate you anymore." She was good. Too bad I could be better.

"You have to take one more step to get it." She sighed.

"I'm back to hating you." I smiled.

"You know you secretly love me." I steadied my grip on her arms, and she attempted to take another step. She tensed up when she stepped on her right knee, and screeched in pain, falling into my arms.

"Done." She huffed. I held her in my arms and kissed her forehead.

"See, I knew you could do it." I lifted her into my arms and carried her back to her bed. If you didn't understand what was just going on, Gabriella was walking, or at least, attempting to walk. Her therapy was still going on, and her doctor was now saying to get her to practice walking. If she kept it up, then she would be out of the hospital in a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, Gabriella was having trouble with it, putting a great deal of pressure and stress on her.

"So, where's my present." I laughed.

"Greedy much?"

"Hey, when someone promises me something I expect them to fulfill them." She said while fingering the ring on her right hand. I smiled

"I always keep my promises. Don't worry." **(AN: If you don't understand or don't remember the ring, re-read chapter 1)**

"So…" She said. I looked at her confused. "Where is it?" I smiled.

"Here." I pulled out a small velvet bag from my pocket, and handed it to her. She took it and gently opened the bag. When she looked inside, she gasped.

"Oh Troy." She lifted the silver chain out of the bag. It was a small locket, with the inscription '_Together Forever' _written on it. She opened the locket, and found a picture of Gabriella and me as in the first year we met each other on the left side, and a picture of us taken at camp before the Daniel incident on the right.

"It's beautiful." She looked up at me smiling.

"Do you want me to put it on?" I asked. She nodded, tears silently falling down her cheeks. I walked sat down beside her on the bed, grabbing the delicate necklace and clipping it around her neck. Once it was on, she put her hand on the heart.

"Troy, you shouldn't have."

"Yes, I should have. You deserve it Brie. After everything you went through." She turned around and leaned back against my chest. I rubbed my hand soothingly up her arm.

"Troy, will I ever walk normally again?" My heart broke. I knew how hard she was taking her knee injury.

"Of course. I'll make sure of it, or my name isn't Troy Bolton." I kissed her on the back of her head, proving my point.

"Thanks Troy."

"You're welcome Brie." I waited a second. "Brie?"

"Ya?"

"You were a girl scout?"

---------

**Gabriella's P.O.V**

After Troy left, the nurse came in to check up on me some more. Then, when she left, I overheard the doctor and the nurse talking outside.

"Gabriella is having trouble walking, Dr." She said.

"If she doesn't try, and look past the pain, then she will most likely never walk again." Never walk again? I can't have that happen.

"Sir, that can't happen. Can it?"

"Sure it can. If Miss Montez decides to give up, then it will. If she stays strong, then it won't. I saw her with Mr. Bolton earlier; she was complaining that it hurt. He seemed to motivate her a bit, but not enough. She has to do this on her own." Tears streamed down my cheeks. Oh where was Troy when I needed him. I had to walk again.

I knew what I had to do.

I quietly unhooked the wires on my body, just as Sam (the nurse) had taught me how. I slowly swung my feet over the edge of the bed. I knew what I had to do.

I was going to walk on my own.

Leaning forward, I soon felt the tips of my bare feet touching the cold hospital ground, spreading a shiver through my body. I stretched out my arms behind me, and using them and my strong leg I lifted myself off the bed.

_See, you're up already! _

I tried to take a step forward, and stumbled. In my attempt of catching my balance, my knee jerked underneath me and I fell forward. Tears came to my eyes.

I couldn't do it.

-----

**Troy's P.O.V**

Driving home, thoughts kept clouding my mind as I tried to concentrate on driving home. I knew that Gabriella wanted to walk so much, but I didn't know what else I could do for her. The thought of her sitting in her hospital room all alone, not able to move on her own, was killing me.

I had to go back.

I knew it was after visiting hours, but something was telling me that I really did have to go back to her. Swiftly turning the steering wheel around, I sped down the road back towards the hospital.

I honestly didn't know why I was going back, but I just had to. Whether she was sitting there, or if she is sleeping, I just needed to me with her. Sure, my parents were going to worry, but I'll sort them out in the morning.

I finally arrived at the hospital. I jumped out of the car and ran into the building. Carefully sneaking by the hospital staff, I finally arrived in her ward. When I opened the door, my breath hitched in my throat.

On the ground, her tiny body wracking with sobs, I saw Gabriella. The raspy tone in her throat when she cried and coughed told me she must have been crying for a long time. I quickly rushed towards her, gentle pulling her body into mine.

"Shh… it's okay. I'm here." I soothed. She turned her head and buried her head in my chest. We stayed in that position for a good hour, before she finally managed to calm down. I then lifted her off the ground and placed her on her bed. Lying down beside her, I let her rest her head on my chest.

"I…I couldn't…. do…it." She said quietly. I began stroking her hair soothingly.

"What?" I quietly said.

"I…I couldn't walk. I tried, but I couldn't?"

"Alone?" I questioned. She nodded. "Brie, you know you shouldn't try that yet. You aren't ready yet. You need to work with the doctor and me some more before you can start walking on your own. Why did you do that sweetheart?" She hesitated, before answering.

"I heard the doctor talking about me." I stayed quiet, hinting for her to continue. "He was saying that if I didn't try and walk I would never walk again." I frowned. The doctor should not be saying this kind of stuff in front of a patient.

"Oh Brie, he was just gossiping. He doesn't know how strong you truly are. You are struggling with it, but we all have something we have trouble with. Remember when I needed your help in math?"

_Flashback Begins_

"_Brie, it's hopeless. I'll never get it. It's just destined for me to fail at Trigonometry."_

"_No it's not. You just need to try harder." I groaned._

"_Brie, I am. I'm just a failure." She frowned._

"_You are not a failure. You are not allowed to call yourself that in front of me, got it?" She said sternly. _

"_But –"_

"_Ah! It's final." She buried her nose back into the textbook. Great, now she's ignoring me._

"_Aw come on Brie. You know that I just can't learn it." She looked back up._

"_You just need some motivation."_

"_Like what?" She thought about it for a bit._

"_Like… you can't kiss me until you finally put some effort into it."_

"_You can't be serious?" _

"_Dead serious."_

_End Flashback_

Gabriella's giggle brought me out of the memory.

"What's so funny?"

"I was just remembering how funny your face looked after I made that deal."

"Hey, it's not my fault that you decided to be mean."

"It got you to work, didn't it?" Aw, now she was just being unfair. Even though it was true.

"Meanie." I stuck out my tongue at her.

"Child."

"Bully."

"Baby."

"That's the same thing as child, smart one." I joked.

"No it's not, dumb one." She mocked. Her face then turned serious. "Troy, am I ever going to walk again, or was the doctor right? Am I just destined to never walk again?" I sighed. This was going to bug her for the rest of the evening.

"Of course you're going to walk again. All you need is a couple more weeks here in the hospital and you're all set."

"Really?"

"Really." She smiled, and closed her eyes. After her breathing regulated, and I realized that she was asleep, I started thinking about our conversation. Would she really walk again? Did she have enough motivation? Sure she did.

Too bad I was having a hard time convincing my mind of that.

-----------

**AN: Well, that's the end of that chapter. As I said, this story is slowly coming to an end. There will be 5 more chapters and then an Epilogue in this story. **

**I left it at a bit of a cliffhanger for you. I have realized that I am not getting many reviews, and I am wondering if it is because my writing is becoming worse. I also noticed that people don't review as much when the chapter is fluffier than it is suspenseful. I mean, for the Epilogue of my story "I'll Never Leave You", I got like three reviews, when I expected more, especially because it was the last chapter. **

**Also, for "Summer Camp Nightmare", I have been getting less and less reviews. This story used to be my most popular one, but now it's going down the tubes. When this happens, it makes me feel like I just shouldn't write. Reviews are actually very crucial to the writer. Without them, there is no inspiration and motive to write. I am trying to release a chapter of this story once a week now, and then once my other stories are released I will try to post a chapter of each every weekend. **

**Anyway, I guess I'm just upset that I didn't get very many reviews for "I'll Never Leave You", especially with all the people who favorited it put it under there 'story alerts'. I'm sorry to the people who are my most loyal reviewers and try to review every chapter. Thank you guys so much.**

**So, I'll talk to you guys soon.**

**Please, please review.**

**Xoxo,**

Vfanforlife


	16. Home

**Chapter 15 – Home**

**AN: Hey guys. Thank you so much for the reviews that you gave me last chapter. I'm going to post this chapter earlier in honor of that. They were wonderful reviews, and so I wanted to get the next chapter out for you guys as soon as possible. Just to inform you, after this chapter, there will only be four more chapters, then an epilogue, and then a final chapter dedicated to thank yous and information on my next story that's coming out!**

**The picture of Zanessa and Ashley in Australia promoting for High School Musical 3 are just amazing! I especially love the picture where Gabriella is with a pelican! Well, more like staring at it. It's hilarious! So adorable. Then of course there are all those pictures of Mr. Hottie Efron walking around, dazzling people. Sigh**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter!**

----------

**Troy's P.O.V**

For a little while, I was doubtful that it would happen.

Okay, maybe a little more then doubtful.

Or a lot.

The sight in front of me was a true miracle. My heart leapt with joy at the scene that I was witnessing.

Gabriella was walking.

And not just slowly, step-by-step taking little walks, but actually normal walks. Sure they were slower than normal, and they did contain a limp, but she was doing it.

Let me just backtrack a couple of weeks.

After Gabriella's and my midnight conversation, her motivation levels went through the roof. Together, we attended every single therapy lesson, not to mention Gabriella would strengthen her leg muscles using weights almost twice a day. Soon enough, Gabriella was getting better and better at walking.

And we couldn't be more proud.

But today, not only was she walking the best that she had even been walking, but also we got the best news we had ever gotten since she was admitted into the hospital all those months ago.

Gabriella was allowed to go home.

So here we were, me sitting on her bed while she was attempting to tie her right shoe.

"You know it could have been so much easier if my mom had brought me my slip-on shoes." Gabriella complained to me. I laughed.

"True, but then you wouldn't be following doctors orders."

"Screw the doctors. This is frustrating me." I raised my hand to my mouth in mock horror.

"Did Gabriella Montez, innocent little Gabriella Montez just… swear?" I said, adding in a little gulp for dramatic effect.

"Yes I did. Live with it." Man, she was cranky today.

"Brie, why so glum? You're leaving today. Finally, you get to go home. It's dream come true!" She looked at me, and then smiled.

"Yeah. You're right. I get to go home!" She said. "I'M GOING HOME!" She yelled. I ran up to her and spun her around in a circle.

"You sure are." I whispered in her ear, and then gently kissed her on the lips. She immediately melted into the kiss. Soon enough, we broke for air.

"Thanks Troy."

"For what?"

"You stuck by me. Even when it got tough, you still stuck by me." I smiled.

"Brie, you have to remember. I will always be there for you. And if you don't remember, just look at the necklace around neck and the ring around your finger." Upon instinct, Gabriella's hand reached up to grab the 'T' necklace around her neck.

"Yeah." She leaned up and kissed me once more, before heading over to the bed and grabbing her purse.

"Are we all ready to go, Miss Montez?" I asked.

"Indeed we are, Mr. Bolton." She responded. I wrapped by arm around her shoulder, and together we walked out of the hospital that had been our home for the last couple of months. As we walked through the hallways, Gabriella said by to all of the nurses and friends she had made while staying here. Finally, when we arrived at the front lobby, there was Mrs. Montez and the Doctor waiting for us.

"Well Miss Gabriella it seems like you're finally leaving us." The doctor joked.

"Yup. No matter how much I love you guys, it's time to go home."

"And I couldn't have it any other way." He responded. They shared a smile, before she walked forward and gave him a hug.

"Thanks doc."

"You're welcome Gabriella. Honestly, but don't tell anybody here, you were one of the best patients that I have ever had.

"And you were the best doctor." I smiled at the sight. Gabriella was back to her bright, bubbly self. And it as a sighed that made my heart flutter. She was back. Our Gabriella was back.

"You make sure you come and visit, alright?"

"Promise." She said.

"Alright then. Best leave you and your family to get you home safely. Best of luck to all of you. Unfortunately, I now have to run off to a patient. Not all of them could have been as patient as Miss Gabriella here." She blushed. Always the modest one, our Gabriella.

"Bye" we all said, waving. As soon as the doctor disappeared from sight, Mrs. Montez turned towards us.

"So, ready to go home?"

"Absolutely." Gabriella replied.

Together, the three of us walked to Mrs. Montez's waiting car, and then we drove out of the hospital parking lot.

Not ever wanting to go back.

------

"Gabby, we're home." Mrs. Montez said. Gabriella had been resting on my shoulder the entire car ride home, and I could swear that she had fallen asleep.

"Hm?" She mumbled. I laughed.

"She said to wake up sweetheart, because we're finally home." Her eyes then shot open.

"Really?"

"Would I lie to you?" She sat up in the car, and looked around. She proceeded to stare out of the car window at her house.

"Wanna go in?" I asked. She nodded her head. Together we got out of the car, and walked up the driveway to the front steps.

"Ready?" I asked as I had a firm grip on the doorknob?"

"Yeah." I smiled.

"Let's go." I grabbed her hand, interlaced her fingers with mine, and we stepped into the house. As soon as we got in she looked all around, taking in everything around her; from the pictures that adorned the walls to the furniture that filled up the many rooms. The house wasn't abnormally large, but reasonable sized. The best part, it was Gabriella's home.

"Am I really here?" She asked.

"Yeah. You are"

"I did it. Troy, I did it. I finally made it home."

"You did do it, and we are all so proud of you Gabs." We continued to walk through the house, Gabriella taking in every part of it, memorizing every intricate detail. This home was one of the most important things for her in Albuquerque, and she was finally back.

----------

After settling in, and finishing the tour of the house, Gabriella and I went up to her bedroom, where we were lying together on her bed. Her head was gently resting against my chest as I rubbed her arm, occasionally kissing her forehead.

"SO, how does it feel to be home?"

"Amazing! Just, perfect. It feels like this is where I belong. You understand?"

"Yes." Gabriella tilted her head so she was looking up at me.

"Troy, will you stay here with me?"

"Why?"

"Well, I got so used to staying with you at…camp. And then you stayed with me almost every night in the hospital, I'm just used to sleeping in your arms." I smiled.

"You wish is my command. You just have to ask your mom first."

"Already done." I laughed.

"Boy, when you want things done, you get them done. Don't you Miss Bella?"

"Yup."

"And that's what I love about you." We stayed quiet for a moment.

"Troy?"

"Yes."

"I still can't thank you enough for everything that happened this summer. I mean, you came to look for me, you figured out where I was; you stayed with me every day in the hospital. I don't know what I did to deserve such a perfect boyfriend like you."

"I'll tell you what you did. You just were Gabriella. Perfect Gabriella; who makes me smile whenever I look into your eyes. You make me happy by just looking at you. Your bubbly personality can bring anybody into a cheerful mood. I tell you what it is Brie, it's magic. It's the magic that comes along with you. You're just a magical perfect, and I just can't help but be mesmerized by you. Let's face it, you have me wrapped around your finger, and I'm never coming off." She laughed.

"Nice analogy."

"Hey, your English tutoring came to some help, didn't it?"

"Well, you won't get my help in university. We're taking different courses."

"I though you said science can be incorporated into everything."

"Except possibly business."

"Dang. The one thing I pick to major in."

"You'll survive."

"No." She looked up at me confused. "We'll Survive."

And then I saw her smile, and it made my day.

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**AN: Hey guys. I'm really sad that this story is coming to a close, but seeing as some stories can't last forever, and I am still trying to master the art of being able to write 7-8 pages chapters and still manage to make the stories last for 50 chapters. If anyone has any tips, please feel free to share. One day, I will be able to write that well. I think my chapters are getting a bit longer than before, so at least it's a start, right?**

**Anyway, talk to you guys soon! Oh, and tell me what you thought of the Australian Premiere pictures. Is it just me or does Zac rarely smile anymore? Either way, we still love him!**

**Please review! Helps me stay on track!**

**Xoxo,**

**Lar**


	17. Gang Get Together

**Chapter 16 – Gang Get-together**

**AN: Hey guys. Thank you so much for the fantastic reviews that I got for the last chapter. I'm really sorry to see this story finally coming to a close, but I am just happy hearing all of the wonderful things you say. Also, over 100 reviews? Thank you guys so much. You are really the greatest. First time a story of mine has reached over 100! I'm so proud of it!**

**On a side note, on Saturday (hopefully I release this before then, teehee!) I am going to be watching none other than ROBERT PATTINSON himself at Much Live in Toronto. I am so excited. I already have the special wristband you need to get in, and now all I have to do is show up. It's really intense.**

**Anyway, sorry that had no relevance to my story whatsoever, but I had to say it!**

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**Troy's P.O.V**

SCREECH!

That was all I heard as Sharpay Evans walked through the Montez household. I could swear my ears would never hear properly again.

"GABRIELLA!" She yelled. I rolled my eyes. Behind Sharpay walked Zeke, following her like a lost puppy, then Taylor with Chad's arm linked in hers (whoever said they weren't meant to be, lied) and finally Ryan and Kelsi. In there hands were, of course, 'get well soon!' gifts. I was willing to be Chad's was some kind of food that he would end up devouring later.

"Hey Sharpay." Gabriella said. She was sitting on the couch, my arm wrapped securely around her shoulder, as one by one our gang greeted her. It was the first time any of them had seen Gabriella in over a month, seeing as the therapist insisted that visitors were reduced to a minimum of only family. I was an exception, seeing as I was practically part of the family already.

"Gabs, I've missed you so much. I didn't have you to talk about lunk-head basketball players, and it was horrible" Taylor playfully joked.

"Hey! We're not that bad!" Chad said as we knelt down and gave Gabriella a hug. "Hey Gabster, I brought cookies!" See. I was right.

Once everyone was settled in and, to Chad's happiness, the cookies were distributed and we all began talking together. Especially, about the doomed topic that was approaching in a week.

University.

"So you guys aren't coming until Christmas, right?" Taylor asked. She was also going to attend University of Albuquerque with me and Troy, and Chad of course. Sharpay and Zeke were both of to University of New Mexico, and Ryan and Kelsi were both heading off to Julliard.

"That's right. Troy and I are going to take online classes." Gabriella answered.

"Are you sure you're going to be able to handle that. Won't you get… distracted?" Zeke questioned. Troy looked at me, winked, then proceeded to respond to Zeke's question.

"Nope. Brie here has me on a strict schedule."

"Yup" Gabriella confirmed with a swift nod of the head.

"And how long have you been out of the hospital? You already managed to put up a study schedule. I smell overachiever." Gabriella pouted, turning towards me. No! Not the puppy-dog eyes. She knows I can't handle any of that.

"Troy… Chad was mean to me. He called me an overachiever."

"Well Brie, you kind of are." Gabriella raised her hand up to her mouth in mock hurt.

"Ouch."

"But it's okay babe, because you're my overachiever. And I wouldn't change you for the world." She smiled, and kissed me lightly on the lips.

"AWWW." Sharpay, Kelsi and Taylor said together.

"Yeah, Aww." Zeke, Ryan and Chad mocked. Then, all at once, the three girls smacked them on the head.

"And that's what you get when you cross Brie." I said laughing. Soon, everyone was laughing. The mood was bright, and we all settled down and began watching a movie.

"I still don't understand." I said. Gabriella shifted her body so instead of lying her back to my chest, she was not on top of me facing me.

"What don't you get?"

"I mean, they're in high school. Right?"

"Yup."

"Then why do they keep singing? Haven't they grown out of it yet?" I asked.

"Touché." I heard Chad mutter, followed by the 'thump' that came when Taylor hit him in the Afro with a pillow.

"Troy, we've watched this movie tons of times, and you still can't manage to understand it."

"Well you confuse me. And all of those comments like 'Troy can't you see how much you look like Zac Efron' are making it worse."

"You can't deny the truth." She said. I sighed, admitting defeat. Gabriella smiled and rested her head against my chest. I subconsciously began stroking her hair. Soon enough, I felt my eyes growing heavier and heavier, until I finally slipped into a peaceful slumber.

-------

"I don't think we should wake them."

"But I have so many ideas! It could be so much fun!"

"No Chad, it's not fair."

"I'M BACK! Oh, LET ME TAKE A PICTURE!" Picture? Someone was taking a picture? Oh no! Soon, I heard the click of a camera. Scared for what I might find, I slowly began looking through one eye-lid.

"Troy, I know you're awake. Just open both eyes." Chad always had to ruin the day didn't he? I opened both eyes fully, taking in the scene around me. The rest of the gang was all huddled around the couch that I was currently resting on. Why? I had yet to find out. As I shifted, I felt something lying against my upper torso. Sure enough, there was Gabriella, sleeping peacefully on my chest.

"You guys are just so cute! Zeke, why can't we be that cute?" Sharpay whined. I giggled, trying my hardest not to wake Gabriella up. Yet, soon enough, her eyes flickered open.

"Where are we?" She mumbled almost incoherently.

"Well, you and me are on your living room couch, while the rest of our so-called 'friends' are sitting around us, taking pictures." I just knew that only some of that processed in Gabriella's mind, as she was still on 'sleep-mode'.

"That's nice." She mumbled. Sure enough, as her brain cells started working faster, I could see her processing exactly what I said, because her eyes shot open.

"PICTURES!?!" I laughed.

"Yup. Sorry."

"But I look so ugly." I frowned.

"Brie, you never look ugly."

"It's true Gabster. You just always seem to look good, even it you just got up." I looked at Chad and playfully glared at him.

"Are you hitting on my girl Chad? Because I don't really appreciate that too much." The four girls looked at each other for a moment.

"Guys." The all said, before bursting into laugher. We sat around and talked for a while, before finally the gang had to go. Mrs. Montez was already home, and had gone straight to bed. Now it was just Gabriella and I in her bed.

"How's your knee?" I asked.

"Better. It still hurts a little, but I'm sure that I'll get even better over time. Why else would we be waiting to go back to university?"

"True."

"I had a great time today with the gang Troy. It felt really good seeing them all again. Thanks." I smiled, touched that these little gestures meant so much to her.

"Oh Brie it's nothing. Anything to get a smile on your face." She smiled brightly, blushing at the same time. "See, there's the smile that I know and love."

"Troy, you're such a charmer."

"And that's why you love me."

"It's true." She said. We stared each other down, before laughing hysterically.

"And Brie, you'll be seeing the gang to much this next week, you'll wish that didn't see them for a while."

"Though that probably may be true, it still feels really good seeing them again and talking to them."

"Anything for you Brie, anything for you." We lay there for a while, and I pondered on the many things that were to come in the next couple of weeks.

The separation of the gang as we finally go our separate ways for university, never to walk the familiar halls of East High together again.

The start of Gabriella's and my journey of online courses, all the while managing it along with the thousands of other things we had to do.

The start of getting back to normal.

**---------**

**AN: Hey guys. If anyone has any idea which movie was referenced to in this chapter (even though it is pretty obvious) tell me and you'll get a cyber cookie! Also, please review and tell me what you think.**

**Only 3 more chapters and an epilogue left. Hopefully I can have this story fully completed in the next two weeks for all of you! You think I can do it? With motivation, hopefully!**

**Please review and tell me what you think!**

**Xoxo,**

Lar


	18. Online Courses

**Chapter 17 – Online Courses**

**AN: OMG! I know this is kind of off topic but I just had the most amazing Saturday of my life. Want to know why? I saw Robert Pattinson IN PERSON!!! And let me tell you, he is so much better looking in person then he is on TV. And Kristen Stewart is very pretty. Nikki Reed is gorgeous and just so sweet! And Rachelle Lefevere (I hope that's her last name… I'm not sure) is really pretty as well. All in all, a fantastic day! So worth the twelve hours standing in the rain! Lol.**

**Anyway, back to the story, I am almost finished. After getting a little feedback from my "Fate Works in Strange Ways" story, I will hopefully post the first chapter before I finish up this story. I just want to get some more reviews before I do that.**

**There has been an increase in the reviews, and I am really happy. It really does help me improve as a writer, and when people tell me I am doing a good job, even when they tell me "it's good" it just makes me feel better.**

**Also, sorry I haven't been updating. My dad kind of took away my computer, and I haven't gotten it back until recently. Even thought I have been writing down ideas for what to happen next in all of my stories, it's still taking me a very long time to write it out exactly how I wanted. I know I try to get a chapter out a week, especially summer camp nightmare, but please bear with me!**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter.**

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**Gabriella's P.O.V**

"Come on Gabriella, can we please take a break." I heard Troy complaining. He had been doing that a lot in the past hour.

Two weeks ago, the gang had all gone their separate ways and gone to university. Once this started, Troy and I were bound to home, studying the lectures that were being assigned by the online university.

"Fine. But only for ten minutes." I sighed a breath of relief, and tossed his workbook and laptop to the side.

"So. What do you want to do?" He asked. I laughed. "What?"

"You were so determined to have a break, but you don't even know what you wanted to do on that break." He raised her hand to his chin, pondering for a moment. He then jumped up, grabbing my arms with him, and raised both of us to our feet.

"Food!"

"You guys are all the same. Hungry all the time." He smiled his ever-so-charming smile.

"You know it!" He leaned forward, and understanding exactly what he wanted, I jumped onto his back. He carried me down the stairs, until we finally ended up in my kitchen.

"Where's you mom?" He asked me.

"Working."

"I see. Well, that just means we can raid your fridge in peace." I turned towards the fridge and rummaged through the contents. Seconds later, he straightened up and looked at me. "Do you have anything else besides _healthy _food?"

"Look in the top cupboard above the stove." He bolted in that direction, swiftly opening the cabinet.

"AHA!" He yelled, taking a box of _Crispo's_. "Perfect." I giggled.

"Troy, you're so silly." I walked over to him, his hand already deep inside the cracker box. My limp was getting better. As I approached him, I could feel Troy's eyes on me, specifically my knee.

"When is that going to be completely healed?" He asked. I knew was he was referring to.

"The doctor said that I should stop limping at the latest a month. I just have to keep walking on it."

"Then what?" He said.

"Then, we can go to U of A." His face brightened.

"Seriously?" I nodded. "That's awesome!"

"Okay, now I'm scared. Troy, Mr. I-like-to-take-the-easy-way-out-of-it, is excited to go to university. What have you done with my boyfriend?"

"Ha, ha. That's hilarious. I'm excited for you, Miss Montez. You've always wanted to go to university, and now you're finally going to be able to." I sighed. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"What if they don't like me? I mean, you're Mr. Hot-shot basketball star, people adore you. I'm just a freak. I just don't want people to get mixed up with us again, and that we will have to deal with high school all over again. I'm not as social as you, people aren't just drawn towards me."

"I beg to differ. I seemed to be drawn to you the second I saw you." I half-smiled.

"Yeah, but the rest of the school had to get used to me. There was even a 'Ban Gabriella Montez' facebook group. I mean, let's face it Troy, people hated me at East High. If I hadn't been your girlfriend, I probably would have had Taylor as my only friend." Troy wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close, and kissed the top of my head.

"People will love you. They hated you because you were with me. Once we get to university, people will right away learn that we are together, and will get to know the REAL you. The kind, caring, loving person that you are; that is the person that people will grow to love and care for, just as I have." I smiled. He really knew what to day at the right time.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome." I stayed in his arms, a comfortable silence surrounding us.

"So, ready to get back to work?"

----------

We managed to get a ton of work finished.

Besides the fact that Troy continued to whine like a baby.

But I could deal with that.

"Alright Troy, I think we've done enough work for to…" he shut his books faster than I could finish saying the sentence.

"Thank God." He replied. I laughed.

"You seem eager to finish."

"I just want to spend some time with you." I smiled at his sweet comment. Then I decided to play with him.

"How do you know I want to spend time with you? I mean, you are a basketball player." He raised his hand to his heart in mock hurt.

"Brie, that stings."

"Want me to kiss it better?" He nodded, putting on his best 'puppy dog eyed' sad face. I crawled over to him, as best as I could with a screwed up knee, and gave him a gentle kiss right on his heart.

"All better?" I asked.

"Yup. But I have another place where it hurts." I knew what he was playing at. He always did this.

"Where?" I asked, trying to hide my giggle.

"Here." He replied, pointing to his palm.

"There?" that was a first. He always pointed to his lips.

"Yup." I shrugged, and leaned forward to kiss his palm. Right after I did that, he swiftly grabbed my chin and brought his lips to mine. I smiled. There was the Troy I knew. When we finally broke apart, I giggled.

"What was that about?"

"Reward." He replied simply.

"For?"

"Making my palm feel better." I laughed. He joined in with me, and wrapped his arms around me. I sighed, smiling, and leaned back into his chest, my head directly underneath his. He kissed the back of my head gently, and then rested his chin on my head. I sighed, feeling content in his arms.

"What?" he asked.

"I love this feeling. Oh being in your arms."

"I love the feeling of you being in my arms," he said back.

"Well, then it's a good thing we're together, isn't it?"

"Very good thing. It's very logical." I couldn't hold back my laughter at that point. "Something funny, Miss Montez?"

"Of course not…just being silly." She replied.

"You can't be silly now. We're going to university. You must be an adult."

"Says who?"

"I do."

"I hate to knock you off your horse, but you don't rule the world Troy."

"Dang! I had such great rules." Again, I burst out laughing. This time, he joined me.

"What are you two giggling about in there?" I turned and saw my mother in the doorway, smiling at us.

"Troy's just being silly, mom." I replied.

"Hey!" he said defensively. We laughed again, but then managed to calm down.

"So… what are you two up too?" my mom asked.

"Oh you know… this and that." Troy replied.

"He means to say that we have finished our university lecture studying for the day." I explained to her.

"I see. So, what would you two like for dinner?" My mom didn't even have to ask Troy if he was staying, because she always knew the answer.

"Hmm. What do you think Brie?" Troy asked me.

"Chinese?" I asked, knowing it was Troy's favorite.

"Chinese eh? Okay, I'll order it and call you down when it gets here."

"Thanks Miss Montez." Troy said at the same time I said "Thank Mom". She laughed, and walked out of the room.

"So, are you honestly excited to be going to university." I asked Troy.

"As long as I'm with you, I'm happy to be anywhere." I smiled. It was moments like these that I treasured; because I knew how good Troy was to me, how much he loved me, and how caring he was. Every day with him was memorable, and I couldn't help but smile whenever I thought of these memories.

And hoped that we would have many more.

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**AN: Well that was the chapter. Some of you have been reviewing me telling me that I have to make my stories more interesting, but I really don't know how to incorporate anything beside's fluff in the last couple of chapters of the story. Sorry if it is getting boring, but I would appreciate if you would review anyway. I have noticed pattern that less and less people review when there is no drama going on, but I would still appreciate it if you guys would please review anyway.**

**Next chapter: First day at University for Troyella**

**Review, Review, Review**

**Xoxo,**

Lar


	19. Together, Hand In Hand

**Chapter 18 – Together Hand in Hand **

**AN: OME! [Lol… Oh My Efron!] Only one more chapter and then the epilogue. Just like "I'll Never Leave You", I am really sad to see this story coming to a close, but I really don't want to drag on the story line. Again, I have left it in such a way that if I was to write a sequel, I would have somewhere to start and have enough information to form a good, solid story line. However, I don't want to make this story too long… I want to move on with my other two stories!**

**Talk to you guys soon! I posted this early to make up for the lack of update earlier!**

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**Troy's P.O.V**

"Gabriella, are you sure you have everything?" Miss Montez asked for the hundredth time.

"Yes mom, I'm sure." She replied.

"I just want to double check. You know I can't just bring you something if you forget…" it was true. Gabriella and I were finally off you university. Her knee had healed faster than expected, and we were here sooner than we thought. Originally, it was predicted that we would get to U of A in January, but it was now early December. Gabriella had also improved emotionally. Though most of the time she seemed to be very bubbly and happy, I knew that sometime she tried to hide her emotions from me. She wanted to look like she was strong, but inside I knew sometimes she was suffering.

And there was one memory that took over my thoughts…the first time she had a panic attack in a long time.

_Being Flashback_

_We were sitting in her living room, watching 'Dancing With the Stars' newest season. Gabriella had always been fascinated with dancing, but she never wanted it to become her hobby. Instead, she was content with watching it with me, eating popcorn and lounging on the living room couch._

"_Can't wait to see who will be chosen this year. Isn't it exciting Troy?" _

_  
"Thrilling." I said, a hint of sarcasm in my voice._

"_You know that you secretly enjoy watching it with me." She teased._

"_Only when I watch it with you." She laughed._

"_Corny, much?"_

"_You love it…" I countered._

"_That I do." We both laughed, and Gabriella snuggled deeper into my side. Soon, the introduction for the show was being played. We watched as the first two sets of partners were brought out. Once the third set was brought out, Gabriella tensed up immediately._

"…_And now, our third set of partners, Mr. David Johnington and his partner, Hannah Ziembors…" Gabriella began shaking now. I looked to the screen to see what could have caused this attack, and then it his me. 'David' looked exactly like Daniel, same haircut an all. The only difference was that his hair was a slightly different colour, and his eyes were a bit closer together. _

_It also didn't help that his partners name was Hannah._

"_Brie…Brie calm down…" Tears had begun streaming down her face._

"_Troy! Troy he's here… He's haunting us, everywhere! It's payback!" She began screaming, her shaking becoming more and more prominent._

"_Brie, calm down. He's not there, it's a totally different person." It didn't help, so I turned her around and gently rested her head in my chest. I could feel her tears wetting my shirt, but I didn't care at the moment. "Shh, it's okay Brie…I'll protect you. It will be okay." I began to rock her gently back and forth. After about 15 minutes, she had managed to calm down slightly._

"_Troy?" She whispered into my chest._

"_Yes Brie?" I asked._

"_You sure he's not there?"_

"_Daniel's gone Brie. He'll never come back and hurt you. Plus, it will be hard for him to get you with me always around you." She sighed._

"_Sorry."_

"_For what?"_

"_Breaking down like that. I should have more control." I stroked her hair soothingly._

"_Not at all. You went through a terrible experience. I was surprised it hadn't happened sooner. Brie, you are a strong person, and nobody can deny that. I don't think anybody could have handled what had happened better than you did. You are a hero, Brie." I could feel her smiling against my chest. She raised her head, her tear-filled eyes staring at me._

"_Thanks Troy."_

_  
"You're welcome Brie. Just remember that I'll always be here for you." We sat back on the couch, and changed the station to a safer, Daniel free one._

--------------

Even though Gabriella had some more episodes after that, they decreased as time went by. It was now at a point that she only had the occasional nightmare every couple of weeks. Still, it was still such a prominent factor that the university had allowed us to share a dorm together, Gabriella being under the circumstances she was in. It helped relax her a lot.

"Bye mom." Gabriella giving her mother a hug and a kiss on the cheek interrupted my thoughts.

"Bye sweetie! I'll miss you." She hugged her daughter once more, and then Miss Montez turned to me. "You take care of my baby girl, okay?"

"I promise." And I always kept my promises. She smiled and gave me a hug too. After a couple more minutes of goodbyes, Miss Montez was driving down the road and Gabriella and I were walking through the university campus. Our luggage had arrived earlier and was already in our room.

"So… this is U of A." Gabriella commented.

"Yup. Where we're going to be spending the next portion of our lives." She smiled.

"Together."

"Yup, together." We continued exploring the grounds, and I couldn't help but notice the many stares that I was getting as we did so. It seemed that it had already been spread that 'Troy Bolton' was attending U of A, and people were learning that I was indeed taken. Whispers were heard as we walked by.

"They're talking about us." Gabriella said quietly.

"Pay no attention to them. I told you, it doesn't matter what people say about you and me being together, you just remember that we are meant to be together and we love each other, and you can overcome anything." She smiled.

"Definitely." We laced out finger together, and continued to keep walking… holding our heads up high. Soon, a puffy-haired familiar face was jogging towards us.

"YO! Captain!" Chad could be heard halfway across the campus. Gabriella and I laughed at this. Chad was never the subtle one.

"Hey Chad." I greeted when he finally arrived within talking distance of us. "Where's Taylor?"

"Off with some Chemistry buddies. She didn't think you would be coming until later." Just like Taylor to already have been adopted in a 'club'.

"That's cool. I can't wait to see her." Gabriella said.

"So Captain, what dorm do you and the missus have?" The missus. It was a joke that Chad always had. He said that since Gabriella and I acted just like a married couple so why not call us that. Typical Chad.

"Um, 345?" I asked confirming with Gabriella. She nodded. "Yup, 345."

"Man! I have a totally different building than you. Oh well." He sighed. "No point dwelling on the bad times, let's move ahead to the good." Chad walked with us as we headed towards our dorm. The whispers continued to grow louder and louder.

"Chad."

"Hmm?" He asked.

"How much exactly did you say about me?" He went silent, which was practically impossible for Chad.

"Well…"

"Chad." I gave him a stern look.

"Just the usual. You know, basketball prodigy, Smart and … Good looking" He coughed over the last two words in an attempt to cover it up.

"Chad!"

"You just said my name three times in the last minute." He said, trying to turn the attention away from himself. He wouldn't get away with it.

"Stop changing topics. Why did you say all that?"

"What!" He raised his hands up defensively. "People asked questions, I have answers.

"It's okay. No harm, no foul, right?" Gabriella said, placing a reassuring hand on my arm. I smiled.

"Yeah."

"Whatever guys. I'll see you later. When Taylor's done with her Chemistry friends I'll call you and we'll all get some food."

"Sounds like a plan dude." I replied, doing my brotherly handshake with Chad. He then headed off. We turned around and headed inside the building that held our dorm room.

"Chad's just a goofball." I muttered.

"You now he wouldn't be Chad if he wasn't." Gabriella replied.

"Touché." I said, smirking. We then burst out laughing, and many of the people in the room began staring at us. We didn't care, however, because we were together. We got into the elevator and headed up to the third floor in search of our dorm.

"Well, it's finally here. We're at university." Gabriella said.

"Yup." We continued walking down the corridor until we finally came to a stop before our dorm room. We waited outside for a while.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Yup." She replied, mimicking my earlier response. She laced our fingers again and unlocked the door.

And together, hand-in-hand, we stepped foot into the new chapter of our lives.

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**AN: What do you guys think? Too corny? I hope it wasn't too dull for you guys. I'm happy that you all really enjoyed the last chapter of my story. This story had gotten so many reviews that it is amazing, and it really makes me so happy that you all took the time to review. **

**This chapter is also out in honor of all of the fantastic reviews that I got for the last chapter!**

**Luv all of you guys so much!**

**Review, Review, Review**

**Next Chapter – well you'll have to review to find out! Lol. (Don't want to spoil it!)**

**Xoxo,**

Lar


	20. Promise Fullfilled

**Chapter 19 – Promise Fulfilled**

**AN: Hey guys. Well, it's the last chapter of the story. Thank you so much for the FANTASTIC reviews that I got for the last chapter. If the same could happen for this chapter, then I would be so thrilled, and the Epilogue will be posted faster. I am also so pleased with the AMAZING response that I got from the first chapter of "Fate Works in Strange Ways". Means a lot that you guys like my new story line.**

**Anyway, as promised, here is the final chapter of "Summer Camp Nightmare". I'm sad to see it coming to a close!**

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**Gabriella's P.O.V**

Troy was right. Things had changed.

For example, the people at university accepted me as Troy's girlfriend, and nobody as tried to interfere.

Plus, Taylor and I had so many classes together, just like Chad and Troy, and the four of us have become so close, spending tons of time together. But most importantly…

Troy and I were inseparable. Our relationship was so strong, so powerful that I knew it would never break. We were growing closer and closer together, almost becoming like one person. You would never find one of us without the other. We were there for one another, a part of one another.

And so, we were now currently sitting on a couch in the main building, a huge New Year's Eve parting going on around us. Troy and I were used to university life, and had become quite popular among our many peers. I was currently situated on Troy's lap, leaning against his chest, as we talked to some of the people in our Business class.

"You guys are just so cute!" the hyper-blond Alpha girl exclaimed. There was definitely too much alcohol in her system.

"Totally" He equally drunk best friend said.

"Thanks." Troy said. We sat quietly, listening to them muttering about how 'beautiful' we were together. Finally, some guys called them over, and we were left in peace on the couch.

"Thankfully, they're gone." I muttered.

"Didn't like them very much?" I teased.

"No. It's just that they were so…"

"Annoying? Popping our Personal Bubble?"

"Exactly." I said, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Come on." Troy said, scooping me up in his arms and carrying me up to the balcony of the building, which was much more secluded. I noticed the time said 11:45pm. Only fifteen more minutes until the New Year.

"Troy, what are you doing?"

"I want to talk to you?" I smirked.

"Weren't we just talking?"

"I wanted to talk to you… Alone." He said, mockingly specifying why he wanted to talk to me.

"Okay." He set me down on the ground, and I stood in front of him. "What did you want to talk about?" Troy took a deep breath. Was he nervous? What could he be nervous about?

"Do you remember what we talked about on the bus ride up to…camp?" He said, not wanting to bring up the painful experience in fear of a panic attack.

"It's okay Troy… you can talk about it. I am okay with talking about it now." It was true, after some visits with the on-campus counselor, as well as the many midnight talks that I have had with Troy, I have finally come to deal with the experience that happened over the summer.

"Okay. Do you remember that conversation?"

"Yeah. What about it?" She said, and began fingering the ring on her finger.

"What did I promise you?"

"That after our first year of University, you would propose to me. What does that have to do with today?"

"Well. It's the end of the year…and soon the beginning of the New Year." I thought about it, and realized what he was implying.

"You don't mean." Troy shushed me and took both of my hands in his.

"Gabriella, I can still remember the first time I laid eyes on you. You were so beautiful; you caught my attention right away. You were an angel, brought to me from heaven, and I knew right then, that you would become an important part of my life." Tears were beginning to stream down my cheeks. He couldn't be doing what I thought he was.

"Soon… we started dating. And let me tell you, that was the most joyous experience of my life. Never had I felt so complete when I was with another person. You were my other half, Gabriella. I don't know how I managed to go on without you before, because you have become such an important part of my life." He grabbed my hand, kissing it gently, before getting down on one knee, one hand reaching into his coat pocket. More tears streamed down my face.

"Gabriella Montez, I love you. I love you more that you could ever know. You are the most important thing to me, and I can honestly say that I would not be able to survive without you. And so, I ask you this question today." He sighed, and I could tell how nervous Troy must have been. He was being so strong, so romantic.

"Gabriella, would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" I was stunned. I had expected this to happen when he had started his speech, but hearing him say those words left me speechless. Of course I wanted to marry him, but for some reason by body wasn't responding.

"Gabriella?" He asked nervously.

"Yes." I whispered.

"What?" He asked.

"YES!" I screamed, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. He spun me around in the air, holding me in his arms. When he finally put me down, he looked me straight in the eyes, and gave me a kiss. The bell chimed, signaling midnight.

"Happy New Year Gabriella." He said.

"Happy New Year, Fiancé." I replied, and Troy's smile widened.

"You sure about this?"

"Never have I been more sure about something in my life. I love you so much Troy Bolton, and you have no idea what an impact you have made on my life as well. I don't know where I would be without you, and I can honestly say that I am honored to be called your fiancée!" He pulled me close to him, hugging me tightly. Soon after, we headed back into the main room, where I immediately ran to Taylor to tell her the news. After their congratulations, and many more from the countless others in the room, Troy and I headed back to the balcony. He held me in his arms as we looked at the night sky above us. All of the stars were shining so brightly.

A shooting star flew across the sky.

"Make a wish." I whispered to Troy, and I made one as well. I wished that I would spend a happy, long life with Troy.

And I knew that this was one wish that was going to come true.

When we first met, we were the most timid of people, awkward around one another. He was a jock, and I a brainiac. Total opposites.

However, we overcame the social barrier and got together, which soon became the happiest moment of my life.

When we had our first fight that summer, somewhere deep inside I knew that it was just a little rough patch, necessary to show us how strong our relationship truly is. And, it did just that.

When we got back together, we were stronger than ever, more cautious of what it was that would annoy the other, and we would just be ourselves. We headed back into Senior Year hand-in-hand, and continued that way throughout our last year of high school.

When the summer came, we were so happy to be spending that time together. I couldn't fathom the idea of not spending every single second of the day with Troy over the summer, but Fate had other plans for us.

Then came the nightmare of our relationship. The one thing that could have drawn our relationship to a close.

Daniel.

That was probably the toughest time that I have had in my life, and the time spend after those terrible days was ever more horrid. Reminiscing on the past, thinking that it was my entire fault, blaming myself for causing the hurt that Troy felt.

But, again, we overcame this. We successfully defeated Daniel, and were brought back together, like we were supposed to be. Daniel haunted me for a long time after that, but I finally got over him. Those shadows in my closet had been thrown out, never to return.

But Troy, he was what kept me together the entire time. Without him, my life would have turned out much differently. I would have probably remained an un-popular nerd, no friend at school, and been bullied for the remained of my high school, and probably university, life. I would have never made such cherished friendships as I have made over the past years. And most importantly.

I would have never dated Troy.

He was the most important thing in my life, and I learned something valuable this summer.

Though I had experienced a Summer Camp Nightmare, I learned something more important than that.

That when you have a strong love with someone, you can overcome anything.

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**AN: What do you think? Did you like the story? Please, tell me honestly if you like how I ended it off. Again, the more reviews, the sooner that the epilogue will be up.**

**  
Thank you so much for everyone who reviewed this story. There are so many of you that I don't have enough room to write all of you down. So, my heartfelt thanks goes out to all of you. You guys are the real reason that I write. I love hearing when a story of mine makes someone feel happy, or inspired someone. As a writer, that is the best gift anybody can give me.**

**So, thank you all for sticking with me, and I will post the epilogue real soon!**

**Xoxo,**

Lar


	21. Epilogue

**Chapter 20 – Epilogue**

**AN: Well, here it is… the awaited Epilogue of "Summer Camp Nightmare". I have been writing this story for a long time and I really thank all of the people who have stayed with me and supported me ever since I first started writing it. This story has gotten the most reviews thus far, and it actually got over 100, which I am so proud of.**

**So please, would you just review one last time. It will not only be a parting gift from this story, giving me your last thoughts on it, but it will also give me the strength and motivation I need to write more…**

**I love all of you guys so much! You all mean the world to me.**

**I would also like to thank you all to the outrageous amounts of reviews that I got for the first chapter of "Fate Works in Strange Ways". Wow, that is a record of how many reviews I have ever gotten for one chapter. Hopefully it will remain constant throughout the story!**

**I love you all, and thank you for the support you have given me.**

**Xoxo,**

**Lar**

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**Troy's P.O.V**

"Dada?"

"Yeah buddy?"

"Mama?" he said her name as a question. I laughed. Little Jacob was in my arms as we walked through the halls of East High. I was taking him to visit his mother on the last day of classes for her.

"We're almost there, J. Just a couple more steps." He nodded, clapping his hands in excitement. He was most definitely, a mama's boy. We walked down the halls, waving hello to the occasional staff-members and students who recognized us, before we finally got to the room we were looking for.

Room 345. The science lab.

Peeking inside the window, I saw the sight that brought a smile to my face every time. My wife, Gabriella, was standing in front of her class, teaching them, and sharing her love of science with them. The students were listening attentively, holding on to every word that was coming out of her mouth. And then I saw the second sight that brought a smile to my face.

Her hand resting on her 6-month-pregnant stomach.

This was Gabriella's final day of classes for this year, as she was now heading off on her maternity leave. It pained her to have to leave the job that she loved so soon, but neither one of us were willing anything to happen to our daughter.

Our baby girl.

When we got the news, we were both ecstatic. Gabriella was getting the daughter that she had always dreamed of, someone to share her womanly advice with, talk to really late into the night about boys, and form that cherished mother-daughter best friend relationship with. And me?

I was getting the little daddy's girl I could spoil rotten.

We already had a name picked out.

Savannah Maria Bolton.

The bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day, and I opened the door to the classroom. Many students were crowding around Gabriella, handing her gifts and cards, and bidding their final farewells. She was quite the popular teacher. Then, as the same students headed out of the classroom, they waved hello to me and gave Jacob a quick tickle underneath the chin, a giggle emitting from his mouth. Finally, the classroom was silent.

"Hey you." I greeted, walking up to her and kissing her gently. She smiled.

"Hey." Jacob then gurgled, drawing attention to himself. "And hello to you to, little man." Gabriella cooed.

"Mama." Jacob replied, reaching his arms out in her direction. Gabriella scooping him in his arms, careful of the baby girl inside of her, and rested him as best as she could on her hip. His shoulder automatically fell on her shoulder, as had happened many times before, and she gently began rocking his back and fourth in a soothing manner.

"He's been waiting to see you all day. He missed his mommy." I told her.

"And I missed him. And you, of course."

"Who could forget about me?"

"Watch that ego, Troy. It could probably fill up this entire room." She said playfully. I laughed, changing the topic. Gabriella always got a kick out of making fun of me, and she was getting quite good at it.

"So, how was your day?"

"Eventful." She said, her eyes lighting up brightly. "The staff held a going away party for me at lunch, complete with pink pacifier cake."

"Why that's the best kind!" I exclaimed jokingly. She giggled, rolling her eyes, and then continued her explanation.

"Then, I have been getting tons of going away presents, so I hope you brought the van otherwise we may have trouble getting them all home. I know I'll miss work, but I'm glad that now I get to go home and relax with my family as I wait for this little one," she said, motioning to her stomach, "comes into this world."

"I'm glad to. And to inform you, I did bring the van." She laughed.

How addicting her laugh was.

"Well, we should probably get going. Today's the special day that we get to decorate our new daughters nursery." Jacob was now old enough to go to the room diagonal to ours, providing Savannah the bedroom across from ours.

"Yeah. Let's go." She said, grinning. Gabriella was excited about anything that had to do with the baby, including shopping for baby clothes, decorating, even baby-proofing the entire house, which I found to be a tad…boring.

Together we walked to our car, loading the trunk with the many gifts of Gabriella's, and headed off to our home.

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Back when I first met Gabriella, I didn't know what to think of the brown-haired beauty standing before my eyes. It was the first time I had become friends with somebody for who they were, not what social standing they were in.

When she transferred to East High, I felt my world was complete. I was overjoyed that the girl who had filled my thoughts for the last week of the holidays was back in my life.

And our relationship grew from there.

Fights were had occasionally, a big one resulting a break up in the summer, but we always managed to get drawn back to one another. Then, we were hit with Hurricane Daniel.

I can honestly say, there were times I didn't think I would ever see Gabriella again during those terrible days. Countless hours were wasted away thinking about how I would ultimately react to the news that Gabriella was gone forever.

However, these thoughts were pushed aside, and the thoughts of hope, faith and belief filled my mind. I also had moments where I knew she was coming back to me, and I clung to those.

And those were the ones that came true.

When Gabriella was finally safe in my arms again, I learned a whole new respect for her. I learned exactly how strong of a person she was. Nobody could have endured what she had to go through, and she was exceptionally brave to survive. Somewhere, deep in my heart, a part of me believed she would always make it out.

After then, our life was never the same. In a good way…

Our relationship strength quadrupled, and we became closer and closer together. We married a year after I proposed to her, New Years Day. The ceremony was private, only close family and friends invited, but we didn't mind. We were finally bound together, united as one, as we always knew we would end up.

Three years later, a gift from God was sent down to us in the form of Jacob Alexander Bolton. He was born premature, and many of the doctors predicted that he wouldn't make it. However, he struggled and fought through his first night, and is still here with us today.

And now, a year later, God was going to grant us a second gift, in the form of a daughter.

Our lives have changed dramatically since that first ever time we set eyes on one another. Then, it started out as a crush. That crush grew into a fondness of the person. That fondness grew into love.

That love was strengthened by our 'Summer Camp Nightmare.'

And from that love, our relationship grew into the strongest it could ever be, something that only came around one in a lifetime.

Something that was rare for a couple to achieve, but once it was achieved it was the most sacred part of any bond with a person.

Our relationship was now an unconditional, irrevocable, everlasting love that would never die out or diminish.

Our love would last forever.


End file.
